Vacation in Avalor
by jolly roger brat
Summary: Co-written by theblindwriter95. As Wassailia comes to a close and the winter vacation comes approaching, it's Elena and Gabby's first year and Elena picks Avalor much to everyone's amusement and surprise.
1. Chapter 1

Ricky rolled his new toy ball to Snow White who happily tried to catch it with her favorite puppy friend beside her trying to get it in his mouth.

Being watched by his mother and older sisters, who unknowingly to him, could speak to said animals, the infant cooed, trying to learn a new trick himself: rolling on his tummy. To him it wasn't easy as he had just learned to sit up a month earlier which had made his daddy freak out.

"Ricky! You got some 'splainin' to do!" Bobby Lee said as he saw Ricky sitting up.

"Easy, Desi, he's a big boy now," Nell played along, knowing that Bobby Lee loved watching old TV shows when he was finished with a shift.

"I know," Bobby Lee smiled, picking Ricky up. "I'm proud of you, little buddy! Soon you'll be walking, and as soon as you start walking, I'll start training you to be a junior guard!"

"One victory at a time, Robert," Nell grinned.

"Take it one day at a time!" Elena and Gabby shouted together as they ran up to him.

"We've taught you so well!" Bobby Lee said as he hugged them.

Ricky didn't understand why his mommy and daddy freaked out whenever he and his big sisters did things that they practiced doing.

He always thought they were broken, having his baby thoughts disappear for a moment as he tried to get his new ball away from Elena's kitty.

His thoughts were interrupted by Elena's kitty Snow White rubbing against him. Ricky cooed as he stroked her soft fur.

"Snow White likes you, Ricky!" Elena giggled.

"Well, Ricky's loved kitties since the moment he was born," Nell smiled, remembering how James had held up Elena's Kitty to help her focus.

"He likes puppies too," Bobby Lee smiled, watching as Ricky reached toward James' dog Jagger. His smile widened as Jagger sniffed Ricky. He knew James was usually the one to watch Jagger when the girls wanted to be around him, but since James was busy helping in the castle, he offered to keep an eye on him.

"I'm glad he likes me," Jagger barked, softly licking Ricky. "As far as babies go, he's not so bad."

"We glad we can understand you," Elena said, giving Ricky his ball. "But this Ricky's. You can't chew on it."

"I thought you encouraged sharing, Elena! But don't worry, I've got my own ball to chew on," Jagger assured her. "Maybe he can use one of my new chew toys, since he likes chewing on things."

"That's okay, Jag, Ricky has his own things for helping with teething," Bobby Lee chuckled, scratching him behind the ears. Elena wasn't the only one who could talk to animals; Nell, Bobby Lee, and Gabby also had pendants and medallions that let them talk to and understand animals.

Only Ricky didn't have one since he was a baby and Nell didn't want him to choke on his pendent but had assured the animals that once he was two or possibly three years old, he would get his own.

For now though she could tell that Ricky only enjoyed two things in his infancy: Chewing and snuggling.

A little later, they were up in the castle again. James had been given a good report on how Jagger had behaved around the girls. "Thanks for watching Jagger," he said as he scratched him behind the ears. "I would have done it myself, but I was busy helping clean up after the party."

"No problem, James," Bobby Lee smiled, "We all agreed to help watch Jagger if the girls want to be near him if you can't watch him. And he's really good around Ricky."

"We trained him really well," James grinned.

"You mean you trained him," Nell smiled. "We just sat back and watched as you did research and took Jagger to classes on how to teach him how to be a therapy dog."

"Jaggy's a good doggie!" Elena giggled.

"He's a nice doggie," Gabby agreed, though with not as much enthusiasm. She'd always been leery of dogs ever since James' first dog had bitten her when she was younger, although it was her own fault for playing roughly with him. She was learning to be more at ease around Jagger, and so far, he was the only dog she wasn't afraid of, except for James' plush dog Little Rex. But as Mommy and Daddy said, it was a start.

And a start that for the most part, Nell was thankful for as Ricky fussed in her arms.

"What's the matter little guy? Hungry?" Nell cooed, though she hated to have to wean him now that he was teething.

"If he was hungry Helen, he would be chewing on your hair," Bobby Lee joked with a smile.

"Maybe he needs a change of scenery, or a nap," James suggested.

"He is running a little late for his nap," Nell agreed. "Why don't we put him down, then we can talk about our upcoming winter vacation?"

"Yeah!" Elena and Gabby cheered. They'd been excited about going with the royal family on their winter vacation, but nobody knew where they wanted to go yet.

"Good. It's okay Ricky, Mommy has you," Nell cooed before kissing her daughters ' cheeks. "Be good."

Hearing their mother baby talk Ricky, the twins giggled a little before turning to their daddy who shook his head in amusement at his wife's baby talk.

"So where do you want to go, girls?" Bobby Lee asked.

"How about some place we haven't been to in a while?" Nell suggested.

"Princess Sandra! We can visit her and see her kitties!" Elena giggled.

"But we went to Orillia for Halloween, remember?" Bobby Lee asked. "Why don't we go someplace else this time, and we can visit her for our next vacation."

"Okay," Elena sighed. At the same moment, she cheered up. "Princess Elena! We see her?"

"You mean, Avalor?" Nell asked.

"Yeah!" Elena cheered, flapping her hands and jumping up and down.

"Why am I not surprised that Elena picks Avalor?" Bobby Lee rolled his eyes.

"Robert, it's their first vacation to pick," Roland smirked, musing his hair. "Besides, remember your honeymoon?"

"I got seasick," Nell reminded him with a frown. "It was terrible."

"We know," Bobby Lee sighed. He recalled that Nell had been sick the whole time, and she couldn't properly enjoy the cruise. "But here's a new question: How do we get to Avalor? I don't want to travel by boat if Helen can't tolerate it, and you saw how sick Elena got when we traveled in the air when we went to Orillia."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Elena murmured. "Am I a bad girl?"

"No, sweetheart, of course not," Nell assured her, "Maybe we can try flying again. After all, you're older now, and you might be used to that. You did pretty well on the way home from Orillia after Halloween."

"That is true," Bobby Lee agreed. "Okay, if you're sure about this, there's no reason why we can't try it again. But we should bring some bags for Elena, just to be on the safe side."

"Why?" Gabby asked.

"Sweetheart, did you or did you not see the big mess on the carriage floor after Elena got sick?" Nell tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn't help but smile sympathetically.

"I got an earful from the guy who had to clean it up," Bobby Lee recalled, kissing Elena's cheek.

"Sorry Daddy," Elena muttered softly as Gabby squeezed her hand.

"Not your fault," Gabby assured her with a girn. "We all get sick with some stuff."

"She's right, Elena, but like we said, you'll do fine this time around," Bobby Lee assured her. "And the bags are just in case you do get sick. You know we like to be prepared for anything."

"Okay," Elena smiled a little. "We see Elena!"

"Yes, Love Bug, we're going to see Princess Elena," Nell smiled as Bobby Lee picked her up and spun her.

"Snow in Avalor?" Gabby asked, tugging on Sofia's dress.

"Sorry Gabby but Avalor is pretty warm," Sofia explained as best as she could. "And Elena I know to you she's a princess but she's a queen now."

"She makes snow appear?" Elena asked with a smile.

"No, sweetheart; not like the queen in your Elsa and Anna book," Nell shook her head. "But she does have her own royal sorcerer, and maybe if you ask him, he can make snow appear."

"Okay!" Elena grinned.

She hugged her mother as her excitement for Avalor increased as she ran to her and Gabby's room.

"Someone's excited for the royal vacation," Bianca smirked, a sleeping Ricky in her arms. "Who picked it out this time?"

"Three guesses, Bianca," Bobby Lee grinned, "We're going to Avalor on Elena's suggestion."

"That sounds wonderful," Bianca smiled. "Can I go with you? I don't think I've ever been to Avalor."

"Yes!" Elena jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

"Elena Lydia..." Bianca scolded as Ricky started to whimper.

"Sorry," Elena muttered, kissing Ricky's cheek.

Ricky settled down when it became quieter. He normally loved seeing Elena jumping up and down and flapping her hands, but not when he was trying to sleep.

"You'll still come with us to Avalor, won't you?" Elena asked.

Bianca smiled. "Of course I will, sweetheart. I wouldn't miss such an exciting trip like this for the world!"


	2. Chapter 2

At the end of the week, everyone was ready to go to Avalor. Sofia, James, and Amber had offered to take Elena on flying horse rides every day, so she could get used to being in the air. Elena did very well each day, but it was always the landing that made her run into the bushes and get sick, so they kept the bags with them, just to be on the safe side.

Gabby, on the other hand, refused to ride the flying horses, since she remembered the horse she'd ridden at Amber's party. "No ride horsies!" she cried, hugging Nell's legs.

"You're not riding horses, Gab-Gab, you're going to be riding with us in the coach," Bobby Lee assured her. "You know you don't have to ride a flying horse if you don't want to, and you can ride one when you feel ready. Just take your time and get used to them."

"I agree with Daddy," Nell smiled, bending down as best as she could with Ricky in her arms. "Just take your time."

"Okay Mommy," Gabby smiled as she glanced at her brother. "Can I hold Ricky?"

"Why can't I hold him on horsie?" Elena pouted, holding Kitty close to her.

"We don't want him falling out of the coach," Nell explained. "We want Princess Elena and everyone in Avalor meeting him, and we want him to be safe."

"I won't hurt Ricky!" Elena gasped.

"Me either!" Gabby agreed.

"We know you won't hurt him, but this is his first time riding a flying coach," Bobby Lee explained. "And who knows, he might fall asleep on the way there, so we'll need you two, and Madeline and Sabrina to tell him about it."

"Okay," Gabby agreed as Elena flapped her hands excitedly.

"Me! Me! Me!" Elena sung, jumping up and down.

"JUST SHUT UP, ELENA!" Madeline screamed from her spot in the couch. "Don't you know that we can never be happy? Never?!"

"I smell meltdown," Nell groaned, putting a hand to her forehead.

"And I smell Ricky!" Bobby Lee chuckled as Ricky cooed. "Come on, little guy. Let's get you changed. After all we don't want you smelly for Avalor, do we?"

"That's right, Robert; you take care of Ricky, and Madeline and I will have a little talk," Nell said as she put a hand on Madeline's shoulder and started to march her out of the room.

"And we'll help Elena," Sofia added, as she, James, and Amber pulled Elena into a group hug.

The last thing Nell heard was the sound of Sofia, James, and Amber starting to sing some of Elena's favorite kitty songs as she and Madeline went to her room.

"Madeline, what's going on with you?" she started when she left the door open a crack behind them, "You were so good when we were in Orillia, and you did the remainder of your punishment here with no trouble, so what's going on?"

"It's not fair!" Madeline cried. "We'll never be happy again!"

"What are you talking about, Madeline?" Nell asked.

"You remember what Jimmy said!" Madeline sobbed, putting her head on Nell's shoulder.

"Butterfly, he isn't here," Nell assured her with a smile. "Come on. Do you wanna be grounded while in Avalor?"

"No," Madeline sniffed, wiping her nose. "I just don't know what got into me, Nell."

"I think I do," Nell murmured. "When you were having those mood swings when Elena and Gabby were a year old, Roland, Miranda, Bianca, and I looked up all sorts of things in the castle library. We learned that you might be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome."

"Is that bad?" Madeline sniffled. "Can it get better?"

"According to the books we read, it can't be cured with medicines," Nell admitted. "But there's one cure for it that might help you: Family."

"How could that help?" Madeline asked.

Nell hugged her. "Because family is the best setting to help those who suffer from something like this."

"Really?" Madeline asked.

"Oh yes," Nell smiled. "You know that after James started singing with his door open, Sabrina would sometimes come in and sing with him when she felt like that. And whenever I started feeling like that, I always tried to find someone to talk to."

"Would something like that work for me?" Madeline asked.

"It can't hurt to try something," Nell smiled. "Now come on. Let's see what everyone's doing."

"Okay," Madeline smiled a little. "I'll apologize to Elena too."

"That's the sister I know," Nell smiled, kissing her cheek. "I like when you're happy. When you lash out at the girls-"

"It makes you mad, don't it?" Madeline asked with a frown. "Like you want to b-burn me?"

"No, of course not," Nell murmured. "It makes me want to know why you get mad, and how I can help you."

"Okay," Madeline murmured. "Nell, I promise I'm going to work on this. I really will."

"I know," Nell smiled. "I'll be there for you every step of the way."

"Do you think I could also use James' dog Jagger to help me?" Madeline wondered. "You know, like how he works with Elena as her therapy dog. Could he could do that for me?"

"You know, Maddie, that's a wonderful idea!" Nell grinned. "We'll have to talk to James about that. I know he'd probably say yes, but I'm not sure if Jagger would need additional classes for this, like he does for Elena."

The sisters hugged for a few minutes before Bobby Lee came back with a cooing Ricky.

"Sister time?" Bobby Lee guessed, seeing Madeline feeling better.

"What makes you say that?" Nell teased, taking Ricky in her arms. "Was Daddy good, Ricky? Because he and I love each other very much and I don't like it when he's bad."

Ricky giggled and waved his arms, then reached out to Madeline.

"Shall we play 'Pass the Baby', Ricky?" Madeline smiled, giving him a hug.

"Is everything okay?" Bobby Lee asked, seeing Madeline smile for the first time since she had gone off to talk with Nell.

"Everything's fine, but I'll tell you more about what we talked about later," Nell murmured. "Madeline just got upset, but she's working through it, and she's having trouble with dealing with Jimmy again."

"The sooner he's out of our lives, the better," Bobby Lee murmured. "I heard you talking about using James' dog as a therapy dog for Madeline, too. We'll run the idea by James when we come back out, and see what he says."

"Agreed," Nell grinned, taking his hand. "Bobby Lee, did I ever tell you how great of a daddy are you?"

"A few times," Bobby Lee admitted with a smile. "If you think you're going to kiss me in front of the kids-"

"They're barely notice it!" Nell chuckled, hearing Ricky squeal. "Unless you're Elena. She notices everything."

"Mommy!" Elena giggled, hugging Nell's legs. "Avalor now! I want Ricky see Elena!"

"And he will, Love Bug," Nell assured her. "It's going to take a little while, but we'll be in Avalor with Princess Elena before you know it. And you'll get to see those jaquins we talked about."

"Jack wins?" Elena repeated.

"That's right," Nell grinned. "You know, the giant flying kitties..."

Ricky giggled at the thought of the giant flying kitties before seeing Kitty in Elena's arms and chewed on her ear.

"MINE!" Elena screamed, grabbing Kitty by her paws.

"No, no, Ricky. That's Elena's toy!" Nell lightly scolded, helping Elena take Kitty back.

"Go, Ricky, go!" James chuckled, having Amber glare at him as they watched Nell and Elena play tug-of-war with Ricky.

"Ricky! Want to play with Zoomer?" Bobby Lee held up the little jaquin toy that Princess Elena had given him.

Ricky's eyes widened, and he reached out for his toy. James took Zoomer for a moment and made him nuzzle Ricky's cheek, making him giggle happily and reach out for him.

"There you go, Ricky," James grinned, putting Zoomer in Ricky's arms. He gently mussed his hair as Ricky started chewing on Zoomer's wings.

"Disaster averted," Nell grinned, giving Kitty back to Elena. "Now, Elena, Kitty might have some baby drool on her, so I don't want you to get upset."

Much to Nell's relief, Elena wasn't upset as Ricky stopped chewing on Zoomer for a moment, wanting to play with his big sister.

"It was so nice of Princess Elena to give Richard Edward his own toy jaquin," Bianca smiled. "Elena Lydia shared her Kitty with him until the new toy came, and now she calls Kitty Zoomer's sister."

"Sister time! Sister time!" Elena sang, flapping her hands.

"And Kitty's such a good big sister to Zoomer, like you and Gabby are to Ricky," Sofia smiled.

Like Bobby Lee had said, Ricky had fallen asleep during the ride, snuggling close to his mommy's chest, since Nell was also sleeping as Elena glanced out the window.

She tried picturing Avalor in her head since her Wassailia present from Sofia. Her namesake's friends sounded nice but too big to play with.

She remembered meeting Princess Elena's sister, and thought she might like to play with her too. She liked hearing the pretty music her grandfather made, and the yummy food from her grandmother.

She picked up one of the books about Avalor that Nell had, and held it out to Bobby Lee, since Nell's hands were full, and she was asleep. "Read me?" she asked.

"Okay, Love Bug," Bobby Lee smiled and opened the book.

Elena didn't understand history but smiled at the good parts and frowned at the bad parts.

Especially with the part with the lady that had imprisoned her namesake long ago. Elena wondered if it hadn't happened.

Maybe her namesake would be as old as her grand mommy and Bianca.

As Bobby Lee read to her, Elena tried to stay awake, but she ended up falling asleep as she listened to him.

She wasn't the only one who had fallen asleep. Sofia and Amber had fallen asleep on James' shoulders, and James was also asleep, with Gabby sleeping on his lap. Madeline and Sabrina dropped off a few minutes later, and Bobby Lee nodded off a few minutes after they did, having read himself to sleep.

From where they were watching in a second coach, Bianca, Florence, Roland and Miranda smiled. "They're so sweet when they're asleep," Miranda murmured.

"Especially our grown ones!" Florence chuckled with a smile. " I always had trouble getting Robert to sleep when he was little."

"Oh James was much worse," Roland smirked, having Miranda glance at him.

"Really? I beg to differ," Florence grinned, shaking her head playfully. "Robert was difficult."

"Did Robert wake up every single time he heard a strain of music?" Roland asked. "My first wife would pass by James and Amber's nursery as they'd be sleeping, and no matter how quietly she'd hum to herself, James would wake up and want to join her. Amber, of course, would sleep right through it. Later, when she hummed to herself, she'd hear a faint 'la-la-la' as if James was singing along with her. We finally ended up asking Cedric to put a soundproof charm on the door after we left the room so James could get a nap in!"

"And I remember once when he sang himself to sleep in his room," Miranda smiled, recalling how James had been worn out after donating blood and fallen asleep while listening to music. "Of course, this is after he had his door open again."

"We saw that," Florence smiled, Bianca nodding beside her. "He tried so hard to finish his song, but he was just so tired that he fell asleep in the middle of it!"

"If you think little boys are bad, little Helen Genevieve would have them both beat!" Bianca recalled with a chuckle.

"Really? Bianca, please tell us. My daughter in law is asleep with her own little boy anyway," Florence smirked, enjoying the talk she was having.

"Helen Genevieve would wake up in the middle of the night and want to play," Bianca smiled. "Lydia would be sleeping in the sitting room, so she and I would have to walk around the house with her. We'd tell her all sorts of stories until late at night when she'd fall asleep. Sometimes she'd be sleeping so soundly that it was easy to carry her to her bed. But other times, we'd put her in one of the chairs and let her sleep there."

"I guess I'm the odd one out," Miranda smiled. "I never had a problem with Sofia at night. She might have a nightmare now and then and wake up crying, and I'd take her to bed with me. Or she might be sick, and I'd spend the night in her room with her, but other than that, she was well behaved and stayed where she was."

"Lucky you," Florence grumbled playfully, seeing little eyes look at her. "Elena, what are you doing up?"

"Avalor?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Go back to sleep, sweetheart," Bianca murmured, rubbing her back. "We'll be in Avalor in a little while."

Normally, Elena would be too excited to sleep, but she held Kitty close and closed her eyes again. "Flying kitties..." she murmured as she fell asleep.

A while later, the coaches landed in the courtyard of Princess Elena's palace. "Now comes the fun part: waking everyone up," Florence grinned, knowing how hard it had been to wake Bobby Lee up when he was younger.

Ricky and Elena were the first ones to wake up, squealing as they both saw what they thought to be kitties looking at them.

"Jack wins?" Elena gasped, flapping her hands. "Jack wins!"

Nell and Bobby Lee were awake by now, and they smiled, seeing as how Elena hadn't gotten sick when they landed. They opened the carriage doors where everyone else was sleeping, and they couldn't help but smile.

"I hate to wake them up," Nell smiled, "They look so peaceful."

"Well, we don't want them to miss seeing Avalor," Roland smiled. He gently shook Sofia, James and Amber awake. "Amber, Sofia, James, wake up. We're here."

"Already?" James murmured as Roland helped him out.

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Sofia yawned as Amber stretched beside her.

"You looked so peaceful that we couldn't wake you," Nell smiled, taking Ricky in her arms.

Ricky cooed, feeling something furry and small nuzzle his cheek.

"Jack win?" Elena asked, smiling at the interaction.

"How about we let everyone wake up, then after we get settled in, we ask Princess Elena if we can see the jaquins?" Nell suggested.

"Okay," Elena agreed.

As Florence and Bianca helped Madeline and Sabrina out of the coach, Bobby Lee gently shook Gabby's shoulder. "Gab-Gab, wake up, sweetheart," he murmured, smiling as Gabby blinked up at him.

"We there yet?" Gabby murmured.

"Yes, we just landed," Bobby Lee smiled as he took her in his arms.

"Good," Gabby muttered in relief. "Daddy, I wanna stay with you!"

"And not meet anyone?" Bobby Lee joked with a smile.

"I meet Princess Elena," Gabby admitted.

"You remember meeting her grandparents, don't you?" Nell asked. "Remember how much fun you had watching her grandmother cook those yummy treats for our Day of the Dead celebration, and the pretty music her grandfather played?"

Gabby smiled. She actually did like the food Princess Elena's grandmother made, and she and Elena both loved dancing to Princess Elena's grandfather's guitar music. "Okay, I meet them too!"

"Good girl," Nell cooed, kissing her cheek.

"I see you're here for Queen Elena," a voice said, smiling at the group. "Let me-"

"Mr. Gabe!" Elena giggled, hugging his legs.

"I'm under attack!" Gabe started to look around, but he smiled when he saw Elena. The rest of the guards came running up, but Gabe grinned and said, "Stand down, men. You all remember Queen Elena's namesake, her family, and the Royal Family of Enchancia?"

"Sorry about that, Captain," Bobby Lee smiled as he picked Elena up. "Someone just can't wait to meet her namesake again."

"No harm done," Gabe smiled. "We'll give you an escort up to the palace. Queen Elena should be finishing up her meeting with the Grand Council soon, and she'll be in the throne room in a few minutes."

As they led the group inside, some of the guards chuckled to themselves. "Cutest attack I've ever seen," one of them grinned.

"Now why can't all our enemies be that adorable?" another one smiled at Elena.

"Laugh it up, men, because one day she'll be grown," Bobby Lee grinned, stroking Elena's hair. "And probably will have an actual reason to attack."

"I would like to see her try!" Gabe chuckled, kissing Elena's cheek. "She'll probably be too adorable to get arrested!"

"Ricky, look! A guard! Just like Daddy!" Nell laughed as Ricky reached out for Gabe.

"Who's this little fellow?" Gabe asked with a smile. "I don't remember him from the last time."

"That's our youngest, Richard Edward Johnson the Second, but we call him Ricky," Nell smiled. "Princess Elena was there at his christening, and she gave him a flying jaquin toy, just like she did for Elena."

"That's right," Gabe smiled. "I was with her when she bought it. I thought she was buying a new one for Miss Elena here."

"No, but she still has hers, which she named Kitty," Nell smiled. "Robert named Ricky's Zoomer."

Ricky squealed, holding up Zoomer for Gabe to see as the captain of the guard chuckled, patting his head.

"Growing up to look like your daddy, little fellow?" Gabe joked, taking him in his arms.

"He like you, Mr. Gabe!" Elena giggled, clapping her hands.

"Awwwww," all the guards cooed.

Gabe smirked. "Okay, that's enough. Let's get everyone up to the throne room," He led everyone up the steps to the palace. He saw Armando, the palace steward, and had him deliver a message to Princess Elena and her family, telling them about their special guests.

As she watched Armando go inside, Elena was excited. She could hardly wait to see her idol again. A few minutes later, the doors opened, and Armando had everyone brought inside.

"Elena!" Elena giggled, running into her idol's arms.

"As queen I should be used to this," Her idol smirked, picking Elena up.

"Queen?" Elena asked with a pout. "Why?"

"I'm queen now," she smiled. "I'm still the same person who gave you Kitty; I just have a different title."

"She's right, Love Bug," Nell smiled. "She'll always be your hero no matter what her title is."

Elena considered this. She didn't care for changes, but she still loved the lady standing in front of her. "Okay!" she smiled.

"Good," Queen Elena grinned, turning to Nell and Bobby Lee. "Besides, it's only been a month since I became queen."

"And what a beautiful ceremony it was," Nell recalled with a smile. "I almost felt bad that Miranda and Roland had to miss it."

"But I looked handsome in my suit!" Bobby Lee chuckled as Nell smiled at him. "And Helen looked beautiful in her dress."

"Robert, it was just a formal, watching-someone-get-crowned-queen dress. Nothing too fancy," Nell grinned, pulling him into a kiss.

"We do like the simple things in life, right, Elena?" Sofia smiled as Queen Elena hugged her next.

"That's right; Keep It Simple, Sofia!" Queen Elena chuckled as she kissed her.

"That word play was brilliant, Queen Elena!" James grinned.

"That book of word games and puzzles you gave Isa for Navidad was a lot of fun, Prince James," Queen Elena smiled. "Mateo ended up making a copy of it for my cousin Esteban so he could solve some of the puzzles too! Isa and my grandparents solved them so quickly that he didn't have a chance to look at them."

"He mad?" Elena asked with a small smile.

"I was a little more than that, young lady," Estéban smirked from where he was before glancing at Nell and Bobby Lee. "Mrs. and Mr. Johnson, now is not the time for some lovebirds."

"Our apologizes, Estéban," Nell grinned, laughing a little. "Sometimes the love bug kicks us when we least expect it."

"I bad girl?" Elena asked.

"No, this is a different love bug, Love Bug," Bobby Lee grinned.

"Nice one!" James grinned.

"I've been hanging around you way too much!" Bobby Lee chuckled, mussing James' hair.

Esteban couldn't help but smile. "Perhaps Prince James would like to compete against me in a word challenge later? I've heard from your letters that he's rather good with such games."

"I think we'd all like to see that," Roland smiled.

"Yeah!" James agreed.

Ricky cooed, reaching out from Gabe's arms to be held.

"No no, Richard. I don't think you'll like Estéban," Gabe joked, smiling softly at the older man. "We wouldn't want another Naomi bothering him."

"Yes, that is true," Esteban muttered.

"Cousin, need I remind you of the time you drank that water and turned into a baby?" Queen Elena smirked.

"I don't think he remembers," Sofia admitted, taking Ricky in her arms. "But Ricky likes everyone he meets."

"Is that so?" Naomi asked, looking down to see Elena hugging her legs. "That'll be interesting to see."

"Yes...now why don't we let all of you get settled in your guest rooms?" Esteban suggested quickly, not wanting to relive the memories of that transformation. "I'll send word to the kitchen and have tea and refreshments prepared, and we can catch up with each other in an hour or two."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Nell smiled, taking Elena in her arms. "We'll see you later, Queen Elena."


	3. Chapter 3

Ricky cooed, kicking his legs happily as Elena pouted next to him.

She hated not being able to see her idol for an hour. Waiting that long to her felt like forever.

"No piggies, Ricky," Elena sighed, seeing him lift up one of his legs. "You're lucky. Even waiting a long time makes you happy!"

"It won't be too much longer, sweetheart," Bianca assured her. "Armando said that the Grand Council should be letting out in a few minutes."

"Good things do come to those who wait," Bobby Lee agreed.

Elena was about to start pouting when the doors opened. "Well, hello, everyone!" her namesake smiled. Elena was about to jump into her arms, but Queen Elena scooped her up first. "Elena! I can't believe you came all this way just to see me!"

Elena giggled as she hugged her. "We visit you for our vacation!"

"And not just for the kitties," Bobby Lee joked before Ricky started to fuss. "Ricky, what is it, buddy?"

"Remember when I explained to you that Avalor might be too warm for our little guy, this is what I meant," Nell smirked, taking off Ricky's shirt.

Ricky stopped fussing, pulling on Nell's hair in response, cooing happily.

"Prince James, Robert Lee, I know those looks on your faces, and I know what you're going to say," Bianca murmured, seeing James and Bobby Lee grinning at each other. "I'm only going to warn you once. Do not say it!"

"Say what, Miss Bianca?" James asked innocently.

"You know what you say when you see that," Bianca frowned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bobby Lee smiled.

"Don't play innocent with me! You're even thinking it right now!" Bianca scolded, seeing the smirks on their faces.

"What are they going to say?" Queen Elena asked.

As if that was the cue they were waiting for, James and Bobby Lee shouted together, "Don't look, Helen!"

"Oh, yes, I remember that!" Queen Elena chuckled, remembering her namesake streaking into a meeting between Roland, Miranda, and herself.

Even Madeline and Sabrina giggled at the memory. Bobby Lee had told them about what had happened, and they had peeked in Elena's room while she was in timeout. Luckily, she was fully clothed, and sleeping against James, who was telling her and Gabby a story.

But they had remembered that Ricky was a baby, and cold or hot, he fussed until he got what he wanted.

"Mama used to do this when you two were babies whenever it was warm," Nell explained with a grin. "Besides he'll fine without his shirt and pants for a while."

"Did you do it with us, Mommy?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Oh, yes, and even then, your father sang that ridiculous song," Nell muttered. "And when Ricky starts walking, and running naked around the castle, we can all be sure that he'll sing it again!"

"You love me," Bobby Lee smiled innocently, kissing her on the cheek.

"That works for Elena and Gabby...most of the time!" Nell smirked. "And you even got James to be your accomplice in mischief!"

"Curse Bobby Lee's bad influence!" James laughed as Roland mussed his hair.

"Jack wins?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Isabel's been playing with some baby ones all morning," Queen Elena grinned, stroking her hair.

"Jack wins are Mommy and Daddy?" Elena asked in confusion.

"Well, sweetheart, there's a thing called mating-" Bobby Lee began as Florence pulled his ear. "Mother!"

"Not until she's as old as you, Robert!" Florence whispered.

"Elena Lydia, would you like to see the baby Jaquins?" Bianca asked before Elena could ask any more questions.

"I know I would!" Sofia grinned.

"Me too!" Amber agreed.

"Yeah!" Sabrina smiled.

"Sure!" James smiled, with Madeline nodding in agreement next to him.

Ricky cooed, holding up Zoomer as Elena looked around.

Baby flying kitties?! They sounded adorable and reminded her of her little brother.

"Baby flying kitties!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands. "We see them?"

"Zoom! Come back here!" Isabel cried, seeing the baby jaquin land in Elena's arms.

"Ricky! Look! Kitty!" Elena giggled, holding Zoom close.

"I'm so sorry! We were all playing, and this little guy smelled something sweet in here!" Isabel explained before looking up at her big sister. "I'm sorry if he interrupted something, Elena."

"Don't worry, Isa; the Grand Council finished up a few minutes ago," Queen Elena smiled. "The timing was just about perfect!" She turned to her namesake, who was cuddling Zoom. "I think I wrote you a while back and told you that we had three new baby jaquins."

"Oh, yes," Bobby Lee grinned. "As soon as Elena heard about them, that was pretty much it. She wanted to come here and see them, and wild horses wouldn't keep her away!"

"His name Zoom?" Elena asked.

"That's right," Queen Elena smiled. "There are two others around somewhere, named Mingo and Estrella, who are his brother and sister."

"And I think I found another one," Sabrina smiled, stroking a pink baby jaquin. "She's so sweet!"

"Yes, that's Estrella," Queen Elena smiled. "And I think James just met Mingo!" She smiled as she pointed at the purple jaquin who was sitting on James' shoulder, sniffing his ear and nuzzling his hair.

"I thought pirates had parrots on their shoulders, not jaquins!" Bobby Lee joked.

"Elena?" Zoom asked, looking up into Elena's eyes. "You're tiny!"

"Wrong Elena, Zoom!" Isabel chuckled, stroking the baby jaquin. "That's not my sister."

"She's right," Nell grinned, picking up a cooing Ricky who started to notice Mingo and Estrella sniffing him.

"Ricky, show Zoom your Zoomer!" Gabby suggested.

Ricky giggled at the baby jaquins and held up his little black and gray jaquin toy.

"You named him after Zoom? That was so sweet of you!" Queen Elena smiled.

"Actually, Madeline came up with the name," Nell grinned. "We couldn't think of a name for him after we got him, and anyway, Kitty had already been taken, so Madeline started flying him around the room as she played with Ricky. He'd laugh and laugh every time she sang 'Zoomer goes Zoom-Zoom', so the name stuck."

Madeline smiled. She'd almost forgotten about that. "Now I'll have to get my own toy jaquin," she said as Nell put an arm around her.

"We'll have to get one for all the kids, and grown-ups if they want one!" Nell smiled as she hugged her.

"We do!" Roland and Bobby Lee yelled, waving their hands.

"Especially those two," Bianca smiled, shaking her head. "Ricky, do you like the baby jaquins?"

Ricky squealed in response, clapping his hands as all the baby jaquins surrounded him.

"Hey! My son is not a treat!" Nell playfully yelled, seeing Zoom sniff Ricky. "What do you think he is? A berry you three like?"

"Well, they know sweet things when they sense them," Bianca smiled, stroking Estrella.

"We're sweet too, right?" Madeline asked, smiling as Mingo landed in her arms.

"Of course you are, little Butterfly," Nell smiled as she stroked him. Nell noticed that Madeline was acting a lot calmer now that she was holding a baby jaquin and listening to him purr. Just like Jagger did for Elena, Mingo might act as Madeline's therapy animal while she was here. If Madeline had her own jaquin, it might help her, even though she'd have to take a toy jaquin home. She smiled, since she knew she could ask Cedric or even Mateo to put a spell on the toy and make it purr. That way, Madeline could use it to calm herself down whenever she had one of her mood swings.

"Anoki! Anoki!" Zoom giggled, spying some of Ricky's baby food and bottles.

"What's an Anoki?" Sabrina asked in confusion.

"Is it baby food for Jack wins?" Elena asked with a smile. "Cause Ricky's good at sharing his! Well, just with Mommy."

"Anoki berries are a type of food that baby jaquins love," Isabel smiled. "Armando also uses anoki berries in his recipes."

"Speaking of which," Armando smiled as he brought out a cart with tea and a platter full of cupcakes, which had been made with said berries.

"These are outstanding," Roland smiled as he tried one. "You must give us your recipe!"

"And be sure to send a copy of it to Sandra," Nell added, remembering one of their friends from Orillia.

"I will, Miss Helen," Armando smiled.

"You know Sandra?" Elena asked.

"Yes we do," Queen Elena smiled. "We met her and her family when we came to Orillia for your Halloween and Dia de los Muretos parties, remember? Before we went home, King Robert agreed to be one of our new trading partners."

"Impressive!" Bobby Lee chuckled, taking some of the cupcakes for himself.

"Daddy, share!" Elena yelled, crossing her arms.

"Yes, Bobby Lee. Share," Nell smirked as Ricky reached out for a cupcake. "Ricky when you have more teeth, you can have a cupcake."

Ricky just cooed, more interested in trying to pet the baby jaquins than trying the cupcakes. However, he did giggle when Bobby Lee dipped a finger in the frosting and swiped it on his nose.

"Robert," Nell tried to look stern, but she smiled as Bobby Lee cleaned Ricky up and let him have a taste of the frosting.

"You like that, buddy?" Bobby Lee smiled as Ricky cooed and cuddled against Nell.

"Mommy's not a tissue, Ricky," Nell smirked.

Ricky cooed again looking down at her chest before remembering his tooth.

He didn't want his mommy hurt again like the last time and though he hated the thought of a bottle, he did it for Nell.

"What do you want, little guy?" Nell cooed, stroking his hair. "Huh?"

"You want a bottle, Ricky?" Madeline asked, going over to his bag and fishing a bottle of milk out.

As Ricky cooed and reached for it, Nell smiled. "Good thinking, Madeline! I know we've been trying the bottle more often, and he's getting used to it."

"He takes it one day at a time, right?" Madeline asked, remembering something Nell and Bobby Lee were always telling Elena and Gabby.

"I see that's starting to rub off on you and Sabrina," Bobby Lee chuckled, mussing her hair.

"Whatever works for him, and that is a good tip," Madeline smiled.

"It sure is," Queen Elena grinned, mussing Elena's hair.

"Mommy I wanna hold Ricky!" Elena yelled before looking at her idol and remembering her manners. "Please?"

"Didn't you say how heavy he was the last time?" Nell smirked, placing Ricky in her arms.

"Yes, but that was 'cause Kitty was there too!" Elena recalled with a giggle.

Nell, Queen Elena, and her namesake all sat down on a couch, with Ricky in Elena's arms. Ricky looked up at his big sister and cooed happily.

"Isn't that sweet?" Luisa smiled. "Somebody likes you!"

"Everyone likes a good game of Pass the Baby now and then," Nell smiled.

After a while, Ricky yawned and started reaching out to his mommy.

"Time for a nap, little guy?" Nell suggested, taking him from Elena. "You can hold him again later, Love Bug," she added, seeing Elena's surprised look. "You were holding him so long that you started to fall asleep. Maybe when he's done with his nap you can play with Zoomer and Kitty."

"Okay," Elena smiled, kissing Ricky's forehead. "Night-night, Ricky!"

"While he's asleep, you have a lot of things to play with," Isabel grinned, taking her and Gabby's hands. "Come on!"

"Bring them back in one piece!" Nell yelled jokingly before spotting herself a cup of tea. "I might need a few cups."

"Oh? Hard day?" Queen Elena joked with a smile.

"You could say that," Nell joked.

"Well, since I have a clear schedule tomorrow, how about you, Queen Miranda, Miss Bianca, Miss Florence, and I have an Avaloran spa day?" Queen Elena suggested. She saw Amber's look of interest, and added, "Princess Amber, you and Sofia are more than welcome to join us too."

"I'd love to!" Amber grinned.

"That's okay; spa days are more Amber's thing than mine," Sofia admitted.

"That's all right, Sofia, but I'd love that," Nell smiled, "But Ricky-"

"Will be fine with me, Madeline, Sabrina, and Sofia watching him," Bobby Lee broke in. "I know that James is going to be competing against Chancellor Esteban in that word game tomorrow night, so they'll be practicing."

"Alright. But please remember the order of his baby food," Nell sighed with a smile. "Mashed banana at breakfast-"

"I know. I saw you labeling everything this morning!" Bobby Lee interrupted with a chuckle. "Including your hairbrush with the word 'MINE' in bold ink!"

"That's because certain little sisters of mine like to borrow my things without asking me first!" Nell whined with crosses arms.

"That was only because I couldn't find my hairbrush at first!" Sabrina protested. "I found it later, in a different drawer than where I usually put it, and I learned my lesson!"

"I know; I've sometimes put my things in a different spot without thinking," Nell smiled. "I remember once that I thought I'd lost Mama's hair clips, but Madeline found them! They looked so pretty in her hair that we agreed that from now on we'd share them."

Madeline smiled at the memory. She'd always loved the butterfly clips she found on Nell's bedroom floor once. She kept them in her hair for safekeeping, and Nell had been so grateful to her that she gave her one as a reward. Madeline's smile widened as she thought of that. Now she had her own personal memento of her mother. True, she had a copy of Lydia's necklace that Cedric made, complete with a picture, but the clip that lived in her memory box that she only wore on special occasions was the real thing for her.

Especially on the day of Nell's marriage to Bobby Lee.

The planning itself had driven her nuts with everything being undecided on. Especially the decision of having the wedding simple or fancy.

Still, everything had gone well. She and Amber had agreed on a compromise: a simply fancy wedding. Everyone loved the sparkling decorations, but the hit of the wedding was Nell's simple dress, complete with flowers in her hair. She, Madeline, and Sabrina had even pressed the flowers afterward, so they'd have mementos of the wedding. Nell smiled; Sabrina had caught the bouquet, and she still had the lace from the holder, which was used as a hat for a doll she'd made. She let Madeline, Elena, and Gabby look at the doll, but they couldn't play with it.

She was shaken from her pleasant daydream by Gabby giggling. "No, Mingo! I'm not food!"

Nell looked up and smiled. Like he had done with James earlier, Mingo was sniffing Gabby and nuzzling her hair. She smiled; Mingo wasn't a dog, so Gabby was doing just fine.

"Mingo likes everyone," Queen Elena grinned, watching the interaction.

"Do they speak?" Nell asked with a smile. "And I mean every jaquin?"

"Elena got excited at the thought of giant and talking flying kitties," Bobby Lee joked with a smile.

"Oh, yes, they talk," Queen Elena smiled, thinking of Skylar, the jaquin she rode whenever she had to ride somewhere on a jaquin.

"You don't need am-u-lets to talk to them?" Elena asked, showing her the pendant around her neck.

"No, everyone in Avalor can understand and speak to Jaquins," Queen Elena explained.

"I wanna see kitties!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Did Isa introduce you to one of her inventions?" Queen Elena smirked, seeing her namesake in different clothes.

"The Presto Changer does a great job with any size!" Isabel grinned.

"Oh, Elena Lydia, that's beautiful!" Bianca smiled, "Turn around, let me look at it!"

Elena happily spun around in her new red dress, which looked very similar to the dress she'd worn for Halloween, but not quite as sparkly. However, she didn't care.

"Do all of you want to try it out?" Isabel asked, "And you can keep the outfits that it makes."

"I think we all know the answer to that!" Amber grinned, Nell, Gabby, Sabrina, Madeline, Sofia, Miranda, Florence, and Bianca nodding at her side.

Isabel joined in the laughter as she turned to Roland, James, Bobby Lee, and Ricky. "Don't worry; it doesn't just make dresses. It makes clothes for whoever steps into it."

"That's good to know," Bobby Lee chuckled, "But I think I'd look so cute in a skirt!"

"Daddy!" Elena giggled.

"At least you missed him as a two-year-old playing with mine," Florence smiled in remembrance.

"Daddy play dress up?" Gabby asked with a giggle.

"Can we see?" Elena asked, jumping up and down.

"Maybe after we all try the Presto Changer!" Nell grinned, taking a babbling Ricky in her arms.

"It can even make clothes that fit Ricky," Isabel smiled. She saw Nell's worried look, and assured her, "You can go in with him if you want. I programmed the Presto Changer so it can fit up to two people at once, and it knows what to put on people."

Nell looked relieved when she heard that. "Okay. I'm just trying to keep him safe. I know you'd be careful with him, Princess Isabel, but, well, you know..."

"I know," Isabel smiled. "Elena and I worked out all the kinks when I first brought it to the invention fair, and it's worked really well ever since."

"Let's go!" Madeline yelled, starting to run in excitement.

"Hey! No cheating!" Sabrina giggled, running behind her.

"Never thought they would be excited about dressing up," Bobby Lee smirked, throwing Elena in the air.

"Again! Again!" Elena giggled, clapping her hands.

A few minutes later, everyone from Enchancia was in new Avaloran outfits. "Pretty!" Gabby smiled, looking over her new blue dress.

"This is pretty," Nell agreed, smoothing her red dress, and adjusting Ricky's collar.

"Princess Isabel, you must give me the patterns for these outfits," Bianca smiled, smoothing her green dress.

"Of course I will!" Isabel smiled.

"Do like your outfit little buddy?" Bobby Lee cooed as Nell handed Ricky to him. "Because you're almost like Daddy! Yes you are!"

"And you say I'm ridiculous with the baby talk!" Nell giggled, kissing him on the cheek.

"But you are!" Bobby Lee teased, mussing her hair.

"Oh, so it's okay for you to do it?" Nell smirked.

"When I do it, it's cute, right?" Bobby Lee asked innocently.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Nell chuckled, having heard Bobby Lee baby-talking Ricky when he thought she wasn't around. "And make sure you don't say anything like that around the guards!"

"Or what?" Bobby Lee smirked, rocking Ricky in his arms.

"I have tapes from when even the girls were babies and I won't be scared to play them in front of your men!" Nell threatened with a laugh.

"Can we hear them?" Madeline asked with a smile.

"Oh I brought a few with me," Nell smirked, kissing her cheek.

"Is it all right if I get some jewelry to go along with this beautiful new dress first?" Amber asked, unknowingly changing the subject as she spun around and admired her new green and gold dress.

"Of course," Queen Elena smiled. "You didn't get much of a chance to see Avalor's marketplace the last time you were here, so why don't I take you on a tour?"

"That's a wonderful idea," Roland smiled.

"You've told us so much about some of the people, and now we'll get to meet them," Miranda agreed.

"We can thank Elena for that!" Sofia laughed, twirling in her new pink dress.

"What tour?" Elena asked in confusion, tugging on Nell's dress.

"It's where you introduce new people to your world," Nell explained before she smirked. "You don't remember your own little tour of the castle?"

"No. Just Mr. Baileywick telling me not to look at rooms," Elena recalled with a frown. "You got it on tape? Like Daddy's baby talk?"

"No, and I'd never play the tapes of Daddy talking like that if he didn't want me to," Nell smiled.

"Thank you," Bobby Lee smirked.

"But only when he's not looking," Nell whispered in Elena's ear.

Ricky cooed excitedly at the thought of a tour, tugging on Bobby lee's collar.

"Someone's excited!" Queen Elena grinned, taking Ricky in her arms.

Ricky cooed excitedly again, pulling on whatever he could find and started chewing on it.

"We can also find something for him to chew on," Florence added, giving Ricky a soft cloth.

"Of course," Queen Elena smiled, "My abuelita told me that when I was teething, she'd put frozen bananas in the freezer, and I'd gnaw on it. Isa liked biting soft cloths like that. As we were making ourselves feel better, our abuelito would play his guitar and sing."

"Music does make everything better," James grinned.

"One of the philosophies he lives by!" Queen Elena smiled, mussing his hair.

Ricky chewed on the soft cloth, cooing a little bit. He heard about his big sister's idol in the letters she had gotten for Wassailia but the thought of being in her arms made him squeal in excitement.

"He's never squealed like that before," Nell grinned, seeing Ricky kick his legs excitedly.

"Next thing you know he'll probably sit up in her arms," Bobby Lee joked as Sabrina and Madeline giggled softly.

"Maybe, but I think he's mostly excited about being in Avalor, surrounded by flying kitties, and being held by Queen Elena," Nell smiled.

"Who wouldn't be excited about that?" Madeline grinned.

"Because how often do we get to come here?" Sabrina added.

"Never!" All three laughed, giving Elena kisses.

Elena giggled at the sudden attention she was getting as she thought of the giant kitties she had heard about in the letters she had gotten.

Everything in Avalor sounded exciting as she begged Queen Elena to start the tour.

"Okay, everyone, let's go!" Queen Elena cheered.

"You go on ahead, Prince James," Esteban urged when James started to protest that he had to practice for their game that night, "It's only a game, which I do want to compete against you in, but like Miss Sabrina said, how often are you in Avalor?"

"Okay," James nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone was having a lot of fun looking around the different shops in Avalor City. Amber especially loved the jewelry shops, and bought herself a new necklace to go with her dress.

"We get something too?" Elena asked.

"Of course, sweetheart," her namesake smiled as she bought her a jaquin pin, "It's not a trip to a new place without a few souvenirs!"

"Thank you!" Elena smiled as Nell put it in her purse. "Mommy?"

"While it's true that I bought something myself, I'm just keeping your pin in my purse so it won't get lost," Nell explained.

"Good idea," Bobby Lee agreed.

The next place they went to was a toy shop, where everyone, even the adults, picked out a stuffed jaquin of their own. Madeline and Elena especially, had fun picking out a toy.

"Kitty wants a friend," she said to Nell, showing her a white jaquin with purple wings.

"Kitty can play with my new friend too," Madeline agreed, showing her a red jaquin with yellow wings.

"Well I have enough for a new friend," Nell grinned, hugging her close. "Now we just have to find Daddy."

"I think I know where," Florence smirked, seeing a trail of Avaloran toy soldiers in a straight line. "Toy knights were always his favorite as a little boy."

"And if he's with James, they're probably deciding on a battle plan," Roland smiled, amusedly shaking his head. "Florence, your son is a child at heart."

"That's one of the things I always loved about him," Florence smiled.

"He always did have a weird sense of humor," Nell chuckled.

"And since he spends time with James, it's clear to see that it's rubbed off on him," Roland grinned, seeing the excited looks James and Bobby Lee were wearing as they looked over the toy weapons. He smiled as James and Bobby Lee bought each other a toy dagger.

"This is great, James! I can give this to Ricky when he's old enough!" Bobby Lee grinned, buying a second dagger for himself, "And I can use this one, so we can practice sparring together!"

They left the toy store with their new souvenirs and went on their way. Little did they know, they would run into some trouble.

"Kitty got a friend!" Elena giggled, showing her new toy to Ricky.

Ricky cooed excitedly, clapping his hands at the brand-new kitty.

"Hold on little guy. Mommy's got you something," Bobby Lee grinned, seeing Nell pull out a toy rattle.

"And I got you a new kitty friend for Zoomer!" Nell smiled, holding out a green jaquin with yellow wings.

Ricky giggled in her arms and bounced up and down as he held his new friend.

"You're welcome, Ricky," Nell smiled.

At the same time, Madeline stopped by a bakery, drawn in by the wonderful smells. "Nell, can we stop here, please?"

"Madeline Elizabeth, you just had breakfast," Bianca spoke up, "You don't need cookies now."

"Bianca, I think this is Captain Gabe's parents' bakery. Besides, I heard the food is delicious," Nell muttered, licking her lips.

"Well, alright, but if there's any reports of tummy aches, that person or persons are going back to the castle," Bianca smirked, stroking Nell's hair.

"Like we'll get tummy aches," Bobby Lee joked, taking Ricky from Nell's arms. "Adults don't get tummy aches!"

"All right, but don't go overboard with the treats," Bianca gave in, "And that goes for you too, Prince James!"

"What did I do?" James asked.

"We want you at your best for when you face off in your game against Chancellor Esteban, and it won't be any fun for either of you if you're sick," Florence assured him.

"I've played games with Sabrina and Madeline when I was sick," James assured her. "But I promise, I will take it easy."

"Good. Come here, Richard Edward," Bianca cooed, taking Ricky in her arms. "Mommy and Daddy go nuts when they have too much sugar. Oh yes they do!"

"Wish you would've brought the recorder with you," Bobby Lee grinned, kissing his wife's cheek. "This would've been interesting to play at her next tea party with her friends."

"That's not a bad idea," Nell whispered back. She was looking for something, when she bumped into a boy about her sisters' age. "Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

The boy smiled. "I'm fine. Did you need help finding something?"

"We're just looking, since it's our first time here," Nell smiled.

"Well, then, welcome to Avalor City," a woman smiled, "I'm Miss Lily. My son Howitzer and I just started working here."

"It's great to meet you," Nell smiled. "My oldest chose Avalor for our vacation and from what we've seen so far it's not that bad."

"It's a wonderful city. Especially with Queen Elena in control," Miss Lily grinned. "If it wasn't for Princess Sofia being called here to rescue her, we all would still be under the rule of that wicked sorceress."

"It wouldn't be the greatest place as it is now if Sofia hadn't come along," Miranda smiled, kissing Sofia on the cheek.

"Sofia's been known to help everyone she comes in contact with," Bobby Lee grinned. "But she went above and beyond the call of duty when she helped free Queen Elena!"

"Well, in that case, you're all getting a special treat, on the house!" Miss Lily smiled. She went to the kitchen, and in a few minutes, came out carrying a cake.

"That can be dessert when we have lunch," Nell smiled.

"And this is for you, Madeline," Howitzer added, giving her an empanada.

"Thank you," Madeline smiled as Nell and Bobby Lee bought a few more empanadas to go with lunch.

"H-Hi," Sabrina stuttered, smiling shyly at Howitzer as it left Elena confused.

"Your aunt's been bit by the love bug, Love Bug," Bobby Lee grinned, throwing her up in the air.

Elena giggled as she was thrown into the air as Madeline gently shook Sabrina out of her lovesick state.

"Sabrina, let's go! We can play with Howitzer later," Madeline said as she walked her out. "Don't you want to see the rest of the city, then watch James play with Mister Esteban?"

"Okay," Sabrina said at last. "Nice meeting you and your mommy, Howitzer!"

As they walked along, Sabrina was more careful, but Nell and Bianca saw that her mind was wandering back to the boy she'd met.

"I remember when you and Robert Lee were like that," Bianca mused, smiling softly. "You two were a blushing mess!"

"And we caught them loving each other in the gardens!" Florence chuckled, rocking a sleepy Ricky in her arms.

"Boy did we get a scolding for that!" Nell smirked at the memory. "I was three months pregnant with the girls and it was a cool, clear night when we did it."

"What happened?" Elena asked.

Nell and Bobby Lee looked uneasily at each other, but Nell smiled and said, "It's a funny story about that, Love Bug; we'll tell you about it later."

"And of course, when grown-ups say that, it means they won't tell us," Madeline grinned.

"You know us so well," Nell smirked, mussing her hair.

"Or you'll tell us when we're older," Sabrina grinned, smirking a little.

"You do know us so well!" Bobby Lee chuckled, musing her hair.

"But we saw Bianca covering you with towels that night. Though she wouldn't say why," Madeline muttered, seeing Sabrina near the flowers. "Sabrina! We're looking at things! Not in love!"

"Okay," Sabrina agreed at last. "Can we go in this book store? I think there might be a few puzzle books in here that James hasn't seen."

"That's a good idea," James agreed. "I might also look for some new mysteries."

"You write Andrew story in Avalor?" Elena asked, seeing him pick up a book.

"Maybe," James agreed. "He does like traveling now and then, and the stories in this book might give me some ideas."

"And we'll find some new books for you two," Nell promised, taking Elena by the hand.

"Don't forget Ricky," Bobby Lee cooed, seeing Ricky start to wake up. "Hey little guy!"

Ricky squealed, clapping his hands as he spotted a pile of board books.

"The children's section is a little far down. Let me help," Queen Elena offered, taking Elena in her arms.

"Are kitties there?" Elena asked with a giggle.

"No, jaquins and kitties aren't allowed in the stores," Queen Elena smiled. "But there are lots of books about kitties and jaquins."

Elena smiled. "Okay!" She and Nell picked out a book on jaquins that she could bring in for reading time or sharing time in Miss Milly's class. She giggled as Gabby picked out a book on Avaloran animals, since her sister had the same idea.

"Great minds think alike," Nell smiled. "Where else do you want to go, everyone?"

"Wherever Ricky wants to go," Bobby Lee joked, seeing Ricky trying to chew on a Pat the Jaquin book he had gotten.

"No, no, sweetie. We don't eat books," Nell smirked, putting Pat the Jaquin in her purse. "But I promise, we'll read your book at bedtime and you can pet the kitty all you want! Is that okay little buddy?"

Ricky giggled happily and waved his new toy jaquin around.

"I'll take that as a yes," Nell grinned, kissing him on the forehead.

"All right, Ricky, we'll let you drive the boat now; where would you like to go?" Bobby Lee asked.

"What are you talking about? Ricky can't drive!" Amber looked puzzled.

"That's just an expression I sometimes use," Florence explained. "It means Ricky gets to take charge and pick the next place on our tour."

"What do you pick, Ricky?" Elena asked, flapping her hands.

"He's a baby! Why are you letting him pick, Birdie?" A little voice smirked, having Elena hide behind her idol.

"Cause it's his turn!" Gabby yelled, crossing her arms. "And cause we share!"

"Be quick, little buddy. Things are about to get ugly," Bobby Lee whispered, stroking his hair.

Elena looked up and saw the same little boy who had teased her at the Halloween party in Orillia. "Mommy..." she whispered, looking up at Nell.

"That's right, go crying to Mommy, Birdie Girl!" the little boy, Aaron Kelly, teased them, just as his parents came up to them.

"Aaron, we've told you that teasing is not acceptable!" his mother Ariana scolded him, "But now we find you teasing that sweet little girl we met at Orillia Castle, and in front of Queen Elena! Your Majesty." she added, curtsying to Queen Elena.

"We can't take you anywhere!" Aaron's father, Maxwell, scolded as he came up to them. "We come to Avalor for a vacation, hoping you'll get over this obnoxious behavior of yours, but obviously that was a mistake!"

"Why don't we take Elena and Ricky outside?" Roland suggested, Miranda nodding at his side.

"Good idea," Nell agreed, handing Ricky over to Miranda, and letting Elena take Roland's hand.

Elena sniffed as she was lead out by Roland before feeling something big and furry against her cheek.

"Hey, _amiga!_ There's no tears in Avalor!" Skylar greeted with a laugh.

"Kitty?" Elena brightened, wiping her nose.

"This must be Skylar," Roland introduced him, "Queen Elena told you in her letters that she rides him when she needs to get somewhere fast."

"Kitty fast?" Elena asked, smiling as Ricky reached out for the giant kitty.

"He certainly is," Miranda smiled, letting Ricky pet him. "Queen Elena took the children on a jaquin ride when we first came to Avalor, and James especially loved it!"

"I ride Kitty too?" Elena asked.

"As long as someone rides with you," Roland assured her, "We don't want what happened to Gabby to happen to you."

Elena nodded. She knew that James had been even more scared than Gabby was when he rescued her from the horse that flew away with her. "Ride Kitty with me?" she asked.

"Maybe after we get everything put away, sweetheart," Nell said as she came out to meet them.

"Is everything all right, Helen?" Roland asked as Miranda handed Ricky back to Nell.

"If one more disrespectful brat fakes his or her apology about teasing my child, I'll break something," Nell grumbled before Ricky grabbed her hair. "Ow. Ow! Ricky that's not a toy!"

"He's trying to cheer you up!" Bobby Lee grinned, kissing her cheek. "Little buddy, did you pick something?"

Nell smiled and showed him a jaquin toy that squeaked when it was squeezed. "We'll be using this as a bath toy for him," she explained.

Ricky bounced in her arms and reached out to Skylar. "No, little guy, I don't squeak," Skylar grinned, nuzzling him.

"Kitty kisses!" Elena giggled as her namesake came up to them.

"Okay, everyone, how about we stop for lunch, then some of us go to the spa?" Queen Elena suggested.

"I can't wait!" Amber smiled, Nell, Bianca, Florence, and Miranda nodding at her side.

"I spa too?" Elena asked with a smile.

"No, no, honey. This is for Mommy," Nell grinned, mussing her hair. "Sometimes Mommy gets really tired and needs a break."

"Is that like nap-nap time in Miss Milly's class?" Gabby wondered, looking confused.

"Kind of, Gabby Anna," Bianca grinned, kissing her cheek.

"What about Daddy?" Bobby Lee asked in a mock pout as Ricky reached out for him.

"Daddy can have his own spa day," Nell smiled. "Right now, this is for older girls."

"We might like to make ourselves pretty too! Right, guys?" Bobby Lee turned to James, Roland, and Ricky.

"Maybe next time, Robert Lee," Bianca smiled.

Ricky cooed, nibbling on his new kitty friend as Nell stroked his hair, kissing his forehead.

"Someone's hungry!" Madeline giggled, tugging on Nell's dress. "But we need a friendly place."

"Where everyone nice!" Elena added, flapping her hands.

"Well, we can't get much nicer than this place," her namesake smiled, stopping in front of a small café. "Welcome to Café Angelica, everyone!"

"What's this place like?" Bianca asked.

"It's run by two of my friends, Julio and Carmen," Queen Elena smiled.

As if that was their cue, Julio and Carmen came out, greeted everyone, and seated everyone at one of the best tables. As she sat down, Sabrina was especially happy there was lots of room for everyone, so she wouldn't be crushed against a wall like she was the last time she'd been to a restaurant.

Nell smiled as she sat next to her. "You'll be okay this time, baby girl," she murmured, "I remember what happened that day too."

"And I don't want to think of it," Sabrina shuddered softly before seeing Elena play with Kitty. "Elena, what are you doing with Kitty?"

"Making you happy!" Elena giggled, holding up her best friend.

"Honey, put Kitty down. We don't want her lost," Bobby Lee muttered, mussing her hair.

"Why?" Elena asked in confusion. "Wanna make Auntie Sabrina happy!"

"We know, Love Bug, but Kitty's special to you," Nell replied, "We just don't want anything to happen to her. You know Sabrina also got a toy jaquin just like Kitty, so she can play with that one instead if she needs to. Just not now, when we're about ready to eat."

"Okay. I keep Kitty safe and clean," Elena smiled as she put Kitty in Bobby Lee's bag where everyone had put their stuffed jaquins. "Kitty can have her own party with her new friends!"

"That's a good idea, sweetheart," Florence smiled as a huge meal was brought out.

"Carmen, Julio, this looks wonderful," Queen Elena smiled as she looked over the food. "You must join us!"

"That's a wonderful idea," Carmen smiled.

"We'd be glad to," Julio agreed as they pulled up chairs for themselves.

"Who cook?" Elena asked in curiosity, looking at the food in front of her.

"Elena, be nice to our new friends," Nell grinned, pulling Ricky in the high chair Carmen had provided for them.

"I nice!" Elena pouted with crossed arms.

"Sweetheart, it's okay for you to ask questions. Especially to people who make you curious," Queen Elena smirked, glancing towards Nell. "Though I agree with Mommy on being nice."

"I cooked everything, sweetheart," Carmen assured her. "I have some wonderful recipes you'll love."

"And you and Gabby will try the food and not complain, right, Robert?" Nell murmured, knowing how picky Bobby Lee and Gabby tended to be, especially when it came to trying new things.

"We've been getting better!" Bobby Lee protested.

"Yeah!" Gabby agreed. She tried a little bite of the food. "Yummy!"

"This is good," Bobby Lee smiled as he sampled some of it.

"When you get older and have enough teeth, you can try all this yummy food too," Madeline playfully teased Ricky with a smile before giving him a teething cracker.

Ricky glanced down at the food that was on his plate, dropping his bottle in the process.

"I'll get that, Ricky," Queen Elena smiled. She gave him the bottle and patted his head. "There you go!"

"Miss Carmen, this is wonderful," Bianca smiled. "You must give me your recipes!"

"I will," Carmen smiled. "My abuelita would be so happy to know that her recipes are being shared again."

Elena smiled back at her. She remembered how she had helped the spirit of Julio and Carmen's grandmother help them to reconcile after an argument. "Dona Angelica would be very proud," she murmured.

"I sometimes think about that with my mama. I do things with the girls that we used to do together and with Ricky well I try my best," Nell grinned, seeing Madeline help Ricky with his bottle.

"If he's sitting up, shouldn't he be holding his own bottle?" Bobby Lee joked, musing Madeline's hair.

"He'll just drop it!" Madeline giggled, putting the bottle down. "He just doesn't know how to hold it yet."

"Give him time, Maddie, he'll learn what to do soon," Nell smiled.

"I know; he'll learn one day at a time, right?" Madeline asked.

"You're so right!" Nell smiled.

"Ricky learn!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"We're all learning something. You're learning kindergarten, your mommy and daddy are learning parenthood and I'm learning still how to be queen," Queen Elena smiled, patting her namesake on the head.

"But I go to spa?" Elena asked with Gabby wondering the same thing.

"No, this is for big girls," Nell shook her head.

"But we big girls!" Elena pouted, Gabby nodding at her side.

"Elena, Gabby, how would you like to help me practice for my game with Chancellor Esteban?" James suggested. "You can help me practice the different puzzles I might have to solve."

"Okay. The kitties think that you'll win," Elena admitted with a smile.

"Why you think that?" Gabby asked, a little confused.

"Because kitties are smart. Right Ricky?" Elena asked with a smile as Ricky clapped his hands. "Sides, they don't know can sue her."

"That's chancellor, Elena," James corrected before turning to Nell. "They'll be safe with me, and I'm sure Bobby Lee will probably have his hands full with Ricky alone."

"We help Daddy with Ricky!" Elena cheered, Gabby nodding at her side.

"That's a good idea, Love Bug," Nell smiled. "Sometimes Ricky can be a two or three-person job!"

"He's trying to roll on his tummy so if he tries to roll away, we'll get him!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down.

"Thank you so much for our meal, Carmen," Queen Elena smiled, getting her namesake off her chair before she could hurt herself.

"It was no trouble at all," Carmen smiled. "You've always been such a good friend to us, Queen Elena."

After the meal had been paid for, despite Carmen and Julio's objections that everything was on them, the group left the restaurant and on to a new adventure.


	5. Chapter 5

"Getting sleepy little guy?" Bobby Lee asked, seeing Ricky give Nell a slobbery kiss on the cheek.

Ricky cooed softly, reaching out for him as Nell smiled, giving him to Bobby Lee.

"You like Daddy, Ricky? Well I do too!" Nell chuckled, kissing his forehead.

"Why you go to spa, Mommy?" Elena asked with a frown.

"Honey, remember I told you how Mommy gets tired? Well the spa will help me," Nell explained with a smile.

"We can make our own spa, Elena," Isabel suggested. "I've gone with Elena and Abuelita a few times to the one in Avalor City, so I know what to do."

"Okay! We play spa too!" Elena giggled.

"Sofia, Auntie Madeline, and Auntie Sabrina can play too!" Gabby smiled.

Madeline and Sabrina had heard of spa treatments from Amber, so they looked intrigued about this. "It could be fun," Sabrina admitted.

"It can't hurt," Madeline nodded.

"See?" Nell grinned, covering her girls in kisses. "You'll have fun without me!"

"And I'd better get Ricky down for a nap," Bobby Lee said as Ricky started to fuss. "I know little buddy. I know."

"Why Ricky sleep?" Elena frowned again, now wanting him at their make-believe spa.

"Well, he's had a long day," Bobby Lee said as he took him to his and Nell's room. "He didn't get a really long nap this morning, so he's going to make up for it now. But don't worry," he added, seeing Elena start to pout, "while he's sleeping, that can give you girls time to plan what you want in your spa, and to set everything up."

Elena sighed. In a way, that made sense. Ricky hadn't been too excited about wanting a nap during their tour, but now, after seeing and doing so much, she guessed he was ready to take a little break. "Okay. When Ricky's back from his nap nap, he can play spa too," she agreed.

"And he can cuddle his new kitties, or they can watch him," Gabby agreed.

"Good girls," Nell smiled, kissing their cheeks. "Well I'm off. Be good for Daddy!"

"We will!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Does Daddy have to be good?" Bobby Lee smirked, flirting a little with Nell.

"I think we all know the answer to that," Nell smirked back. "Roland, James, make sure Robert behaves himself!"

Nell, Miranda, Bianca, Florence, Queen Elena, Luisa, and Amber set off for the spa, and Bobby Lee waved Ricky's hand after them.

"Don't worry, Bobby Lee, we'll all help you," Sofia offered, smiling as Ricky reached for her. "Yes, hello, Ricky. Are you ready for a nap?"

"I think he's been ready for a nap since we left that restaurant," Sabrina smiled.

"Okay," Sofia smiled, "Why don't we put him down, and then if they want help, we can help Elena, Gabby, and Isabel set up their spa?"

"Knowing Elena, she'll want to help," Madeline grinned, reaching out to hold her nephew.

"And how do you know that?" Sofia joked, watching as Ricky was handed to Madeline.

"I just know," Madeline grinned, starting to rock a fussy Ricky.

"Oh yes, we all know how Elena likes helping take care of Ricky," Sofia smiled.

"Nell said Ricky's a two-person job, right?" Madeline asked.

"Yes; it takes more than one person to take care of a baby," Isabel grinned. "Elena told me about how Esteban was turned into a baby after drinking from a fountain of youth, and as he got younger, she and Mateo ran all over the place trying to take care of him when he got into mischief."

"I know exactly how you feel about that," Sofia whispered, recalling how James had accidentally been turned into a baby, and how she and Amber tried to hide it from Roland and Miranda She raised her voice, "So Elena, what do you want in your spa?"

"Ricky," Elena smiled innocently, reaching out for her brother.

"Honey, he has to nap," Bobby Lee explained gently before seeing her face turn red. "If he doesn't nap, he'll be fussy."

"RICKY! RICKY! RICKY!" Elena screamed, throwing herself on the floor. "I WANNA HAVE RICKY IN SPA!"

"Be lucky we're not at home. She would start biting," Amber groaned, covering her ears as Gabby joined her.

"Elena, you can forget about doing Mommy's spa. You're going to another spa called TIME-OUT!" Bobby Lee said as he handed Ricky over to Sofia and walked over to where Elena was screaming.

"No time-out!" Elena wailed as Bobby Lee picked her up and carried her to her and Gabby's room.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Princess Isabel," Bobby Lee said as he came back a minute later.

"Maybe when Elena's done with her time-out, she can help us a little," Isabel suggested. "I'd hate to have her miss the whole thing."

"We'll see when her time-out's up," Bobby Lee decided.

He hated Elena's meltdowns over the simplest of things. Yet he had to remind himself that she was little and that he did the same things at her age.

But at his age, there was always the threat of Lamb-Lamb being taken away from him for a day or so if he tried to sneak out of a time out.

And knowing Elena, he had to bet that she was probably trying to do the same since Nell wasn't there to carry her back into her and Gabby's room.

A few minutes later, he looked in the room where Elena was still sitting in a corner. He checked his pocket watch. "Five...four...three...two...one. And time's up!" he said as he entered. "Elena?"

"Yes, Daddy?" Elena looked up.

"Are you ready to be a good girl?" Bobby Lee asked.

"I'll be a very good girl," Elena promised. "Can I still help with Mommy's spa?"

"For a little while, Love Bug," Bobby Lee nodded. "Princess Isabel said you shouldn't miss out on making Mommy's spa. I agreed, and you can help as long as you apologize to everyone."

"I will," Elena promised.

"That's all I ask," Bobby Lee said as he walked her back to the others.

"But how long is a little while?" Elena asked in confusion.

"As long as Kitty is on vacation," Bobby Lee explained, seeing her smile.

"You take Kitty bye-bye if I bad again?" Elena wondered as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Only until you're done with Mommy's spa," Bobby Lee replied. "We don't want her to get dirty. I'll tell you what, Elena: I bought a Kitty myself, and your Kitty can play with him while you're working."

"You bought a Kitty?" Elena asked.

Bobby Lee grinned. "That's right! I'll show you," he picked up the bag he'd put everyone's toy jaquins in, and pulled out the one that was still in there. "This is my own Kitty."

Elena smiled when she saw the dark brown jaquin with yellow wings. "He's cute!"

"He's going to be the guards' mascot!" Bobby Lee grinned.

"Mask got?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Yes he is," Bobby Lee grinned, mussing her hair. "I wonder how much fun Mommy's having without us."

Meanwhile, Nell smiled as she allowed herself to get a massage. "This is wonderful," she sighed happily. "I've never been able to unwind like this before!"

"It's nice to experience something like this once in a while," Bianca agreed from where she and Amber were getting mud facials.

"I wonder if everyone else is having as much fun as we are," Miranda agreed as she was enjoying a cup of tea before her own massage.

"Knowing Isa, she's fine!" Queen Elena chuckled, smiling softly at Nell. "How are you feeling?"

"Not like I'm being spit up on or dragged by my hands," Nell smiled, feeling her massage. "I love my kids, but they have to understand that Mommy isn't as young as she used to be."

"Not as young as you used to be? Look at me, Helen," Queen Elena joked, "I'm really in my early sixties, but I don't look a day over twenty!"

"Time spent in magical jewelry doesn't count," Luisa smiled.

"You're only as young as you feel," Florence agreed.

"Yeah. I admit that whenever I read the girls their books, I often wonder about being in their shoes," Nell grinned, sitting up from her massage.

"The joy to be a kid again!" Miranda chuckled, just starting her massage. "But you and I both have three of them, so you have to pick one."

"Well, Ricky's my favorite boy," Nell joked.

"James is my favorite boy too," Miranda grinned.

"But what about your favorite girl?" Nell asked.

"Well, since she's right here, I love Amber," Miranda smiled, "But I love Sofia just as much."

"No fair! I have twin girls!" Nell pouted, crossing her arms. "I can't pick!"

"Thank about the one the makes you the most happy," Luisa suggested, smiling softly. "Elena makes me the most happy."

"And not because she's the queen?" Amber grinned, feeling the mud on her face.

"Even before she became the queen, she and I would spend time together," Luisa smiled. "I'd watch her and her mother practice fencing, and she and I would make tamales for everyone. Now she comes to me for advice when she has a question about something in the kingdom."

"Speaking of which, Luisa, you gave us your recipe for tamales, didn't you?" Florence asked.

"I believe so," Luisa nodded as she accepted a cup of tea, "I know I wrote it down for Princess Sandra and the cooks in Orillia. If I didn't make a copy for you, I'll take care of it. And if I did give you an extra copy, you can give it to a friend."

"It would be nice," Bianca admitted before seeing Nell grinning from ear to ear. "Helen Genevieve? You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"With three kids and a husband to worry over, I'm doing great," Nell answered with a smile. "But I just hope Elena's behaving herself."

"She's been giving you trouble lately?" Queen Elena asked, a little curious.

"Not really," Nell admitted, unware that Elena had been in a time-out while she was here. "But she wants to do everything with me. She wants to prove she's a big girl."

"Just like Isa," Queen Elena smiled, and she told them about how Isabel tried to take care of Mingo, Zoom, and Estrella all by herself when they were first hatched.

"But at least she learned a lesson: Don't be in a hurry to grow up too fast," Bianca smiled. "And she learned from her mistake."

"That's all you can really do," Florence agreed, "Every day is a new day to learn something."

"Kitty time out?" Elena frowned, trying to calm down as Sabrina and Madeline helped Sofia and Isabel rebuilt part of their make-believe spa.

"Elena, you started throwing a fit," Sabrina sighed with a shake of her head.

"Ricky's ball no part of Mommy's spa!" Elena pouted, crossing her arms.

"Actually, it is," Isabel explained, "Abuela told me that some spas have therapy balls as part of their equipment. A person sits on a ball and does bouncing and stretching exercises. They also practice keeping their balance on it."

"Bouncy balls fun!" Gabby giggled.

"Do you use something like that in your therapy exercises, Gabby?" Sofia asked.

"Yeah!" Gabby nodded. "I put my bad leg on a ball, I stand up straight, and the doctor has me push the ball away until my knee bends. Then I have to stand up by raising my leg again."

"Okay! Mommy can bounce on it too!" Elena giggled.

"But it's not big," Gabby frowned with crossed arms. "Mommy might break it."

"Why don't we go to Mateo?" Sofia asked with a smile. "I'm sure he can make it big."

"Can he bring Kitty to life too?" Elena asked, clapping her hands.

"I hope not," Madeline groaned, shaking her head.

"Maybe since we're putting on this spa for her, you can show her how the ball works," Sofia suggested. "If Nell wants to try it, she can, but if she doesn't, that's okay too. This is all for fun anyway, right?"

"Yeah!" Elena giggled, "But what about Kitty?"

"Mateo showed me his potions once," Sofia replied, "He had an enlarging potion, and the antidote for it, but he didn't have any potions that would bring toys to life."

Elena pouted, but Sabrina said, "You wouldn't want Kitty to come to life, Elena; she might get loose in the palace. Or she might escape outside and fly away."

"Kitty bye-bye?" Elena asked.

"And my jaquin would be so sad if Kitty went bye-bye," Bobby Lee added. "He'd always ask me 'Where did my friend Kitty go?'"

Elena giggled. "Okay. My Kitty plays with your kitty and I won't bring her to life."

"Good idea, Elena. But we can still ask Mateo if he can use his enlarging potion on the ball," Sofia suggested.

"I still bring Kitty?" Elena asked with a flap of her hands.

"Yes but no toys to real kitty spells okay?" Sofia smirked, mussing her hair.

"Can Mr. Magic Man do it?" Elena grinned, hugging Sofia close.

"I don't think Mateo would like it if something happened to his potions when someone else is in the room," Sofia replied. "He told me and Isabel about his apprentice leaving a mess behind when she left in the middle of cleaning up, and how she accidentally summoned a water spirit. I think it's best if Mateo handles the potions by himself for now. Besides, he knows where everything is in his workshop, and I'd hate to see Mister Cedric get in trouble for messing with something he shouldn't."

"That's a very good idea," Sabrina agreed.

"Okay. Kitty can stay a toy," Elena agreed. "She can play with Daddy's kitty!"

"Good girl, Love Bug!" Bobby Lee chuckled, covering her in kisses.

"Is Mateo busy?" Sabrina asked, picking up Ricky's ball. "I wouldn't want to bother—"

Sabrina was interrupted by Ricky wailing as Elena looked at Bobby Lee.

"Ricky up?" Elena asked in confusion.

"We tried to be quiet while we made plans for Mommy's spa, but I think it's time for his bottle, and maybe a snack," Bobby Lee suggested as he took Ricky in his arms. "Hey, buddy, did we wake you up?"

Madeline found Ricky's bottle, and Sabrina found a box of teething cookies. "Just in case he might need one, right?" she asked.

"Good idea, Sabrina; it never hurts to be prepared for everything," Bobby Lee grinned as he offered the cookie to Ricky.

"Zoomer help Ricky too!" Elena added, holding up Ricky's stuffed jaquin. "It's okay, Ricky. We sorry we woke you up."

Ricky sniffed, chewing on the cookie before spitting it out as he started to cry again.

"I guess he's not hungry," Sabrina muttered, throwing away the teething cookie.

"Zoomer?" Elena asked, hoping it would work before watching as her brother threw him to the ground. "He doesn't like kitties no more!"

She found herself crying along with Ricky as Gabby covered her ears.

"No, Elena, sweetheart, don't say that," Bobby Lee murmured, "He loves Zoomer. But he doesn't see Mommy anywhere."

"It's okay, Ricky, Mommy just went out for a little while," Elena tried to comfort him. "She'll come back."

Meanwhile, at the spa, Nell was finishing up a manicure when she looked around. "Ricky?"

"Is your mommy sense tingling, Nell?" Amber joked beside her, since she also had her nails done.

"Yes. Thank you, Queen Elena, this has been wonderful, and it's just what I needed to relax and unwind, but I think we should get back to the palace," Nell said as she stood up.

"Okay, Helen, if you're ready to go, so are we," Queen Elena smiled as she and the others picked up their gift bags.

"Thank you," Nell smiled softly, looking at the floor. "Though I'm sorry we have to leave early."

"Nonsense. Richard Edward needs his mommy," Bianca smiled, stroking her hair. "Besides you were that way too when you were little."

"How come?" Amber wondered, looking through her gift bag.

"Every child feels that way when they're that age," Bianca smiled. "Yes, Princess Amber, I'm sure even you felt that way."

Amber nodded. "I knew where Mother and Daddy were, but I hated being apart from them for too long. It's true, James would keep me company, but sometimes I wanted one of them with me instead."

"Abuela always tried to help me or Isa when we wanted to be with Mami and Papi," Queen Elena agreed. "She'd tell us stories or have Abuelo play his guitar for us until Mami and Papi came to their room to check on us. They'd dance with us until we felt better, and sometimes they'd play 'wild wild seas' with us!"

"We'll have to play that game with Elena and Gabby," Amber grinned.

"We so should!" Nell chuckled with a smile. "When they were babies and I or Bobby Lee were gone for a while, or the both of us were on a date night, we always give them whatever had our scent on it."

"And to them, it was like Mommy and Daddy were there?" Queen Elena asked as she and Nell sat next to each other when the coach arrived.

"That's right. They never fussed when they had those blankets," Nell smiled.

"We'll have to make a blanket like that for Ricky," Amber agreed. "I'm getting better at sewing and knitting, and I'd like to help with something like that."

"You are indeed, Princess Amber," Bianca smiled. "You helped make Elena Lydia's Halloween costume, and she loved it. Richard Edward would love a blanket you helped make, too."

"I almost feel bad for leaving Bobby Lee with him," Nell smirked before smiling softly. "Elena's been trying to be a big girl by helping us out with Ricky and Gabby if she needs it."

"Like last week with his booster shot," Amber recalled, putting her bag on the floor. "I heard her sing kitty songs just to calm him down."

"Ricky does like kitty songs!" Nell smiled. "Elena played her tape and he loved it."

"We'll have to ask James to play some songs like that later," Queen Elena smiled. "I'm sure Ricky would love to hear one, and he'd really love hearing my grandfather accompany James."

"They did sing that one song together when Elena's toy scepter was broken," Miranda remembered. "Then it became a singalong with Amber, Sofia, Isabel, Sandra, Zoe, you, and Bobby Lee."

"That was long before Ricky was born," Amber smiled as the coach started to land.

"Mommy!" Elena giggled, running over to the carriage excitedly. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

"Elena, what's gotten you so excited?" Nell asked, mussing her hair.

"Ricky rolled! Ricky rolled!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands. "Daddy was getting his bottle and I watched him like a big girl!"

"Thank you, Elena...wait. He rolled?" Nell gasped.

"Yes he did," Sabrina smiled. "We shouted for Bobby Lee to come quick, and when he came in with Ricky's bottle, he rolled again!"

"That's great! Do you think he could roll for me?" Nell asked.

"I think he'd love that!" Madeline grinned.

Nell entered the room, and saw Ricky lying on a mat on the floor. "Ricky, you rolled? You got some 'splainin' to do!" she sang out.

Ricky looked up at the voice, and rolled over on his stomach. He squealed when Nell ran over and covered him with kisses.

"What a big boy! Ricky, sweetheart, I'm so proud of you!" Nell cheered.

Ricky cooed, showing only his first tooth to his mommy but she didn't seem to care.

"If he knows how to roll and sit up, then why aren't his teeth growing?" Madeline joked with a smile.

"It depends on the baby, Maddie," Nell grinned, mussing her hair.

"Babies decide on teeth?" Elena asked, a little confused.

"Not all babies develop at the same time, and they reach certain stages at their own pace," Queen Elena explained.

"They take it one day at a time!" Elena cheered, jumping up and down.

"That's right, sweetheart," Nell grinned.

"We got a surprise for you Mommy!" Gabby giggled, clapping her hands.

"I think I just had enough for today thank you," Nell smiled, picking up a cooing Ricky.

"But it's a good surprise," Elena looked sad.

"Okay, I'll look," Nell smiled, hugging her, "What is it?"

Elena and Gabby walked Nell to the room where their surprise was set up. "Surprise, Mommy!" Elena cheered when they came in, "It's a spa!"

"I get to have another spa day?" Nell smiled, "This is wonderful! But girls, you'll spoil me!"

"Mommy deserves it, right?" Bobby Lee asked. "Even if she's already spoiled!"

"Daddy, be nice to Mommy!" Elena pouted.

"You heard her; be nice to Mommy!" Nell grinned.

Ricky squealed happily upon spotting his ball in the spa, clapping his hands.

"Okay little guy you pick first for Mommy," Nell suggested, stroking his hair.

"I think Ricky wants his ball," Bobby Lee grinned. "And look at how big it is, buddy!"

Ricky squealed, seeing how big his ball was.

"Watch, Mommy! You sit on it and bounce!" Elena giggled, sitting on the ball and demonstrating. Suddenly, the ball rolled back, and she slid off.

"No, Elena, it's like this," Gabby said as she put her leg on it and demonstrated one of the stretches her doctor showed her.

"That's good, Gab-Gab," Nell smiled. "I remember when you saw the ball in the doctor's office during our first visit, you wanted to play with it. We finally had to go in a different room, so you wouldn't get distracted as he was telling you how to do the exercises and stretches."

"How long do I visit him? Forever? When I'm a grown up?" Gabby wondered with a smile.

"We've got years to answer that, sweetheart," Nell grinned, helping Ricky with his ball.

"You get better with your stretches and exercises every time you go," Bobby Lee smiled as he watched Mateo pour his shrinking potion on the ball so it wouldn't hurt Ricky. "You make us proud with all your progress."

"A few times a year isn't all that bad, or that long," Nell agreed. "Soon it'll be once or twice a year, then maybe once a year. Then hopefully you won't have to go at all. But it all depends on how the muscles in your leg are healing, and what the doctor says about it."

"I get better at my own pace?" Gabby asked.

"You know us so well," Bobby Lee grinned, covering her with kisses.

Ricky cooed, holding up Zoomer in Mateo's face.

"No I'm not making him come to life! Your big sister already tried!" Mateo chuckled, taking Ricky in his arms.

"But Snow White can have them as kitty friends!" Elena pouted with crossed arms.

"Maybe, but don't you think all the kitties in your stable would be scared of the ones with wings?" Mateo asked. "And jaquins aren't really tame."

"He's right. According to your book on jaquins, they're not the same as house kitties," Sabrina agreed. "They're bigger, and about the size of the horses back home."

"We don't want to scare the horses," Sofia added, "You know how skittish he gets around anything bigger than him."

"Okay. I won't scare your horsie, Jaggy, or the kitties," Elena agreed.

"It's nice of you to think of the other animals, Love Bug," Nell smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

When Ricky had fallen asleep at last, Nell noticed that Elena and Gabby were starting to yawn as well. They tried to hide it, but Nell knew what was going on. "You want to lie down for a little while?" she suggested.

"Okay," Elena murmured, Gabby nodding at her side.

"I don't think you got much of a nap either," Bobby Lee grinned. "You spent so long working on Mommy's spa that you didn't get any rest! What do you say we fix that right now?"

Elena and Gabby smiled, and as Elena took Kitty, Gabby picked up the white and purple jaquin Elena had picked out for her as a surprise while they were out. "I have a Kitty too! Thank you, Elena!" she smiled.

"I see that, and it was nice of Elena to get her for you," Nell said as she kissed her, "You'll have to find a name for her, but remember, Gab-Gab, Zoomer and Kitty have been taken."

"I think of a name after nap nap," Gabby said, having her kitty nuzzle Nell's cheek.

"Take as long as you need. Daddy and I don't have names for ours either," Nell grinned, tucking her in. "If you girls need anything we'll be across the hall."

"You take nap nap?" Elena asked with a yawn.

"No honey. Mommy's got a book she really wants to read and I well I'm planning her a surprise just for us and your aunties," Bobby Lee smirked, musing her hair. "But it's time for you two to have sweet dreams like you know Ricky's doing."

"Okay," Gabby smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

"Okay," Elena fell asleep a minute later.

As Elena cuddled Kitty, she dreamed that Kitty was real, and that they were flying together. It wasn't just them she was seeing; she saw everyone on the jaquins they'd bought. Nell was holding Ricky on her blue jaquin with silver wings, and he was giggling away.

Elena smiled, but as she flew, she saw a flash of green out of the corner of her eye. At first, she thought it was Amber's new Avalor dress, but she knew that it was green and gold. This one was different.

It was a yucky green dress, having Elena stop Kitty for a second.

She remembered her namesake talking about a lady with that dress in her letter to her. A mean lady who took everything away with a wand.

Elena rubbed her eyes, hoping the lady wasn't there but she saw her with the meanest smile she had ever seen.

The lady said a word that Elena didn't know. It wasn't a bad word, since she was holding a wand, which looked a lot like Mister Magic Man's wand. She was hit by a bright light, and she and Kitty disappeared.

She didn't know what happened after that, because she woke up with a scream. She felt someone's arms around her, but that only made her cry harder.

"Elena? Your mommy and daddy heard you screaming from across the hall and got me. Are you alright?" Queen Elena asked, patting Elena's back.

Elena shook her head, burying it in Queen Elena's chest.

"Do you wanna talk about it? That's what Isa and I do," Queen Elena suggested as Elena looked up at her.

"There was a mean lady in a green dress," Elena sniffled. "She cast a spell, and everyone went bye-bye!"

"Shuriki..." Queen Elena murmured. "Come here, sweetheart..." She took Elena on her lap and started rocking her. "It's all right. It was just a dream, and dreams can't hurt you."

"Elena!" Nell gasped from the doorway.

"Which one?" Queen Elena grinned as she looked up.

"The one who has a toy Jaquin named Kitty, and who goes by the nickname Love Bug," Nell smirked. She took Elena in her arms. "It's all right, Love Bug. We're here."

"Mean lady here?" Elena sniffed, burying her face in Nell's chest.

"Mean lady?" Nell asked in confusion.

"What mean lady?!" Bobby Lee growled, starting to become a little angry.

"Shuriki," Queen Elena sighed, starting to shiver a little. "Your little girl dreamt that she came after her."

"I guess it's my fault for that, Queen Elena," Bobby Lee admitted. "I was reading the girls stories about Avalor when we were coming here, and the story of Shuriki was one of them."

"Don't worry about it, Robert," Queen Elena smiled. "Shuriki's gone, and most importantly, I'm safe now, and the kingdom is free. We'll never have to worry about her again."

"Elena? It's Auntie Madeline. You okay?" Madeline asked, taking Elena in her arms.

"Okay now," Elena sniffed before looking at Kitty. "You take."

"But I got my own kitty!" Madeline gasped, a bit shocked at Elena giving her Kitty. "Why don't you want her?"

"I ride Kitty and mean lady cast a spell," Elena sniffled.

"She had a dream that Shuriki attacked and made her disappear," Queen Elena explained.

"It was just a dream, Elena," Madeline murmured. "We're all safe."

"Okay. I nap nap," Elena muttered, going back to sleep.

"Good girl," Madeline smiled, kissing her cheek.

Seeing her niece cuddling with Kitty had Madeline softly as Bobby Lee tapped her shoulder.

"Get Sabrina and I'll explain everything," Bobby Lee whispered, musing her hair.

When Sabrina was there with her own Jaquin, a little orange and pink one she named Howie, in honor of her crush Howitzer, she was sitting next to Madeline on the bed, and she saw that her sister was cuddling her little gold and yellow jaquin she had named Butterfly. They listened as Bobby Lee explained about the dream Elena had, and how frightened she had been.

"I'm glad that didn't happen with us," Sabrina whispered, moving closer to Nell.

"It was just a dream, baby girl," Nell murmured. "But you're right. That was pretty scary."

"So, is Elena scared of kitties now?" Madeline asked with a frown.

"We won't know for sure until late," Nell assured her with a smile.

"But she tried to give me Kitty!" Madeline protested as she cuddled Butterfly close. "She looked scared!"

"Just give her time," Nell murmured. "She knows the difference between what's real and what's not real. But I think she thought that something would happen to Kitty; that's why she gave her to you, she knows you'll help take care of her."

"But will she be okay for tonight?" Sabrina asked. "We all want her there when James plays his game with Mister Esteban."

"She'll be fine," Bobby Lee smiled. "Look, she's hugging Kitty right now."

Madeline and Sabrina followed his gaze and saw that he was right. Elena was hugging Kitty, and she mumbled, "Safe now, Kitty."

The twins smiled at the scene in front of them, picturing Elena having a much better dream.

Like they often did after a nightmare. Yet as they looked back, they could see Bobby Lee putting his hands in his pockets like he was lost in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Nell asked, seeing Queen Elena stroking Elena's hair and hearing her start singing _My Time_.

"I think this is my fault," Bobby Lee mused, "I shouldn't have read Elena the story of Shuriki. She caused so much trouble for Avalor, she almost killed Queen Elena..."

"She was defeated," Nell continued, "Don't blame yourself. Believe me, Elena will be fine. And don't forget, Madeline, Sabrina, and I have first-hand experience with dealing with nightmares!"

Bobby Lee nodded, pulling her, Madeline, and Sabrina into a group hug. "You're right. But this was just a one-time thing. Your nightmares sometimes still go on. But at least all of you can count on me, my mother, Bianca, Roland, Miranda, Amber, James, Sofia...well, everyone, to be there for you whenever you need us."

"Thank you," Nell said, fittingly playing with his hair.

"Nell Ricky's up from his nap. Can I get him?" Madeline asked with a smile.

"Sure, Maddie. I think Elena would like a few friendly faces around her when she wakes up," Nell smiled.

Madeline brought Ricky and Zoomer in the room a few minutes later. "You want to help us make Elena feel better, Ricky?"

Ricky squealed, waving Zoomer in the air as his big sister started to wake up.

"Zoom-Zoom-Zoom! Zoomer goes zoom-zoom!" Madeline sang, making Butterfly nuzzle Ricky and Zoomer.

Ricky giggled madly as Elena and Gabby woke up.

"Ricky okay!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands excitedly.

"Bad dream?" Bobby Lee asked Gabby, seeing her rub her eyes.

"No, but I heard Elena cry. She okay?" Gabby asked.

"She'll be fine," Bobby Lee smiled, "She had a bad dream, but Queen Elena helped her with one of her favorite non-kitty songs, and we talked a little."

"We see James play his game now?" Elena asked.

"That's not until tonight, sweetheart," Nell smiled, "But there's no reason why we can't go see him practicing or challenge him to a game of your own."

Ricky cooed, chewing on Zoomer as Bobby Lee tapped Nell on the shoulder.

"Actually, Helen, you, me, and your sisters have some plans of our own tonight," Bobby Lee whispered with a smile.

"If we do, I don't remember," Nell smirked playfully, kissing his cheek.

"You'll remember soon enough," Bobby Lee whispered.

Nell smiled as she and Bobby Lee stopped outside James' door. They saw him sprawled on his bed, just like when he was at home and working nonstop on papers. However, instead of being surrounded by stacks of papers, he had some of his new puzzle books.

"He's been working a long time," Madeline murmured, seeing James look up and rub his eyes, then go back to his puzzle.

"Elena, what are you doing?" Nell asked, seeing Elena go in and pick up James' black and white jaquin, which was on the floor.

"Picking up James' Kitty so she cheers for him," Elena smiled. She tucked the jaquin at his side and patted his shoulder.

"Elena, what is it?" James asked, rubbing his eyes again.

"Your kitty cheer you on!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands. "Kitties like doing that."

"And playing with yarn, covering you in fur," Nell joked, mussing Elena's hair.

"Rubbing against Daddy whenever he sees her," Bobby Lee added with a smile.

As they spoke, they were all nuzzling their jaquins against James. He was trying to ignore it and focus on a particularly difficult puzzle, but it didn't help that Bobby Lee was starting to tickle his side.

"Get James?" Gabby giggled, hearing James laugh and seeing him swat Bobby Lee's hand away.

"I think we all know the answer to that, Gab-Gab," Bobby Lee smirked. "James...break time!"

"Kitties too!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Yes, Elena, kitties too!" Madeline laughed, having Butterfly join Kitty.

"Mom! Dad!" James yelled out the door as everyone pinned him down.

As he continued to tickle James' ribs, Bobby Lee teased him, "Roland and Miranda are busy; they don't have time for your foolishness!"

"It's nice that you're dedicated to your writing, and practicing for this game, but remember that, James, it's just for fun!" Nell added, mussing his hair.

As he passed by James' door, Esteban couldn't help but look inside. He smiled as he remembered his own family doing that with Isabel as she practiced word games. She acted just like the young prince was doing, minus the toy jaquins, of course.

"Is this my competition?" Estéban mused as Elena ran off to him.

"Hi, can sue her!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down. "Help with James?"

"I think you and your family has everything under control, Miss Elena," Esteban smirked. "I decided to take a take a break and walk around the palace before I completed another puzzle."

"We can't wait to see you and James go head to head, sir," Bobby Lee smiled.

"And I am eager to see Prince James in action," Esteban smiled as Roland, Miranda, and Queen Elena came up to see what was going on.

"Is somebody having fun?" Queen Elena smirked, taking Elena in her arms.

"I am," Madeline admitted with a smile.

"Me too!" Sabrina giggled, hugging Howie close.

"It's been a while since we tickled James," Madeline joked.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, or a weird tradition!" James laughed under them.

"You love it!" Sabrina giggled, mussing his hair. "Though I wish Howitzer was here."

"I'm sure you'll see him again," Roland smiled. "He seemed like a nice boy, but you have plenty of time before you meet that special someone."

"Still, he'd be honored that you named your jaquin after him," Miranda agreed, stroking Howie with one hand, and mussing James' hair with the other.

"Maybe we can invite him over?" Sabrina asked, brightening a little as she tugged on Nell's dress. "Please?!"

"Sabrina, this little crush of yours will fade eventually," Bobby Lee smirked, kissing her cheek.

"Yours didn't," Roland reminded him with a smile. "I remember when you asked me about love advice."

"Will it really fade, Nell?" Sabrina asked. "He's a really nice boy."

"You only knew him for a few minutes, but he was nice," Bobby Lee smiled as he let James up at last.

"And if you don't get to see him again, Howitzer could be your pen pal," Nell agreed, getting James a glass of water, and letting him lean against Bobby Lee as he regained his composure. "I remember when Bobby Lee and I did a pen pal project in school."

"We were about your age," Bobby Lee added, mussing James' hair. "I actually forgot who I wrote to, but he was from a few kingdoms over."

"I didn't," Nell smirked, kissing a cooing Ricky on the cheek. "She even sent me something long before the girls were born."

"Kitties?" Elena guessed with a giggle.

"No, Elena. But wasn't it something that played music?" Madeline recalled, rubbing her arms.

"Yes! It was that music box I have on my dresser at home," Nell smiled, and squeezing her hands. "She knows how much I love music boxes, and she sent me one after we were rescued."

"I remember that music box," Bobby Lee smiled, "I used to wind it up, and I'd put it on your stomach, so Elena and Gabby could hear the song. Later, after they were born, we'd hum the song the music box played to help them go to sleep."

"Did it break because of excessive use?" Roland asked.

"No. As soon as I saw it again, I asked Cedric to put a spell on it, so it would be like new and never wear out," Bobby Lee smiled.

"Game now?" Elena asked, tugging on Nell's dress.

"Patience, Elena," James smirked as both Elenas looked at him. "I mean the one that likes kitties and doesn't like baths."

"Ricky likes them," Elena grumbled before frowning as she saw Madeline's skin turn red.

"Nell..." Madeline murmured uneasily.

"Let's go, Maddie, I'll help take care of it," Nell murmured back. "You've been so good about not scratching, but old habits are hard to break."

"Habits?" Elena asked.

"Something you do all the time without thinking," Nell explained, "Like how I used to have a habit of twisting my hair when I was younger."

Elena frowned, seeing Nell and Madeline leave the room. Whatever made her aunt itch had her wish she would stop.

"Don't worry; Madeline will be back," Sabrina assured, mussing her hair. "Come on. Let's take our kitties and have a kitty party."

"How long? Bath?" Elena asked, making a face. "I don't like bath."

"It won't be too long," Sabrina smiled. "They'll be back in a few minutes. And maybe we can help James practice some more."

"No thanks," James smirked. "I think I've had enough 'help' for a while!"

"Please, James?" Gabby smiled, giving him (ironically, James thought with a smile) puppy-dog eyes.

"Well, okay," James grinned, mussing her hair. "Why don't you set up a puzzle for me?"

"Yay!" Gabby cheered, clapping her hands.

"Kitty party, Auntie Sabrina!" Elena yelled, dragging her aunt by the hand. "Gabby can play with James, and Daddy can play with Ricky."

Ricky cooed, spotting her hair before he started pulling in it impatiently. He didn't want to stay with James until the game actually happened.

"Mommy!" Gabby called as Ricky tugged on her hair.

"We're back, Gab-Gab," Nell smiled as she and Madeline came back. "Ricky, come here, buddy."

"Is Auntie Madeline okay?" Elena asked.

"She'll be fine, Love Bug," Nell assured her. "But as for you Ricky why are you being bad?"

Ricky cooed, clapping his hands as an answer before nibbling on Zoomer's wings.

Later on, and with Ricky just finished with his dinner, Elena grumbled as bath time was announced for the three of them. She didn't get dirty even once! It wasn't fair!

"We know what you're thinking, Love Bug, 'bath bad,'" Nell said as she ushered her and Gabby into the bathroom. "But you didn't have a bath yesterday, so we want to make it up today."

"But we miss James play game!" Elena protested.

"Don't worry, Love Bug, you'll be done with your bath long before James and Chancellor Esteban play their game," Bobby Lee assured her, taking up his post by the door so she wouldn't run off.

Elena smiled softly at the words but she still didn't like baths as she heard Ricky giggling happily at the squeezing bath toy from earlier in the day.

She just couldn't get it. Even Sabrina liked baths, but the door was always closed. And that was the only time she allowed the door to be closed.

When it was her turn, she tried not to put up too much of a fuss, since she wanted to see James play with Chancellor Esteban. Before she knew it, Nell and Bobby Lee were helping her into a clean dress and drying her hair.

"It's a miracle! She didn't run off!" Bobby Lee whispered.

"Probably because she doesn't know her way around the palace, but I think you were guarding the door," Nell whispered back.

"Game now?" Elena asked.

"After we eat dinner, then they'll play the game," Nell smiled.

"But Ricky ate already!" Gabby giggled, clapping her hands.

"And had a mess of mashed peas over his face to prove it!" Bobby Lee laughed, tossing Ricky in the air.

"And luckily not his head," Nell smirked, recalling how Elena used to do it.

"But he still might be a little hungry," Bobby Lee added. "We can give him a little cracker or something to gnaw on while you show him how you eat like big girls."

Elena and Gabby smiled. They loved showing Ricky, Nell, and Bobby Lee how big girls acted. They especially wanted to be able to watch James play his game with Mister Esteban.

And they especially wanted Ricky to see them as big girls, because like Madeline and Sabrina once explained to them, they were his role models.

Elena was still confused to this day about what those words really meant, but as long as Ricky giggled and clapped his hands, she was happy.

Even though Gabby was a picky eater, even she wanted to set a good example for Ricky. She also wanted to see James play his game. She ate everything without complaint, since Nell, Florence, and Bianca had made some of these recipes back home, thanks to Luisa giving them her recipes.

"Good girl, Gabby!" Nell whispered.

"I set good example for Ricky?" Gabby whispered.

"Yes," Nell smiled. "I'm proud of you, and Elena! You're both my big girls! And as a reward, you can come to the sitting room and watch the game!"

"Yay!" The girls giggled, happily jumping up and down.

Ricky began to fuss as Bobby Lee stroked his hair, knowing that the little guy was starting to get sleepy...until he checked his forehead. Ricky felt warm. Bobby Lee glanced at Nell, who took a fussy Ricky in her arms.

"You want to take a nap, Ricky?" Nell asked. "Or are you getting too hot?"

"Nell, is Ricky okay?" Sabrina asked.

"He feels a little warm," Nell murmured. "I'll try to get some of these layers off him and see if that helps." She took off Ricky's shirt and asked, "That feel better, buddy?"

"Ricky can't be sick! He has to watch James play!" Elena cried.

"I know, Love Bug, but I think we should just let him rest, and if he feels up to it, we can take him to watch James," Bobby Lee suggested. "If he does, that's great, but if he doesn't, we'll let him rest, and we'll tell him about it later."

"But Ricky never sick," Elena grumbled with crossed arms.

"But winter is a time for getting sick!" James joked before musing Ricky's hair. "Sorry, little guy. I know it's not fun."

"Babies do get really fussy when sick," Madeline recalled, frowning slightly. "I remember when Elena and Gabby got sick for the first time. Their crying hurt my ears!"

"If he's sick, he's sick," Queen Elena agreed, "It's all right if he rests instead."

"Amber and I can watch him," Sofia spoke up; she and Amber had been going through her goodie bag from the spa the whole time, and they came out to see what everyone was doing, "We've seen James play word games a hundred times, and he's beaten us at all of them. It won't hurt us to miss one competition."

"Are you sure, Sof? You've never seen me go against an adult," James asked.

"Don't give us that 'you've never gone against an adult', James! Everyone's seen you mop the floor with me and your mother on game night!" Roland chuckled, putting James in a headlock and mussing his hair.

"Just say the word, Roland, and we'll get him again!" Bobby Lee grinned.

"I'll keep that in mind, Robert, but for now you and Helen take care of Ricky," Roland grinned back.

"Come on sweetie. You're burning up," Nell softly cooed, checking Ricky's forehead. "But don't worry Mommy and Daddy got you."

"No Ricky leave! NO MOMMY LEAVE!" Elena screamed, throwing herself to the floor.

"Elena Lydia O'Malley! They have to leave! Ricky is sick, so it's not about you!" Sabrina scolded, and much to the horror of Madeline, started swatting her niece's bottom with a quick hand.

Elena, having only experienced time-out, started to cry at the swats and the more painful they were to her.

"Sabrina?" Madeline gasped.

When she heard Madeline's voice, Sabrina seemed to snap out of it, and she shook her head. "Nell, Bobby Lee, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that," she apologized as she started to tear up.

"You don't have to apologize for something I was going to do myself," Nell assured her, then she turned to Elena with a frown. "Elena, go with Auntie Sabrina; you're in timeout. But you will be allowed to watch James. However, you're going to bed when the game's over."

"I'll help guard her," Bobby Lee murmured, and as they left, he whispered to Nell, "I'll help calm Sabrina down too."

When they were gone, Madeline buried her face in Nell's side. "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I know I've sometimes been mean to Elena, and I know I have problems with my anger, but I try to be nice! I didn't mean to do all that stuff I did before!"

"Shh...come here," Nell murmured, pulling Madeline to her other side. "It's all right, little butterfly. Why don't you help me put Ricky to bed, and I'll help you?"

"Okay. But you're not going to have Sabrina in trouble, are you?" Madeline sniffed, rubbing her nose.

"Of course not. While they're still young enough to not have a grounding as their punishment, both Elena and Gabby are old enough to get a few swats on the bottom if they need it," Nell assured, stroking her hair. "That must've been scary to you and Gabby when Sabrina did it."

"It reminded me of Beth and Robby when they hit me and Sabrina when we tried to help you," Madeline admitted.

"Baby, listen to me. We never have to worry about them again," Nell murmured, "They're dead and gone, and out of our lives forever."

At the same time, Bobby Lee was with Sabrina. He had put Elena in her timeout corner, told her that Kitty was not accessible until bedtime, and said to toughen up; Sabrina hadn't really hurt her that badly.

He and Sabrina were outside the door where they could hear Elena crying softly. Bobby Lee turned to Sabrina. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I was acting like Beth and Robby when they hit me and Madeline when we tried to help Nell!" Sabrina buried her face in his chest.

"Sabrina, I know that was scary for you, but you did the right thing," Bobby Lee murmured. "Elena and Gabby can't be grounded, but they can get a few little swats when they need it."

"Is Queen Elena mad?" Sabrina frowned, looking at her hands.

"I believe she understands," Bobby Lee assured, stroking her hair. "Elena was getting a little out of hand."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," they heard Queen Elena's voice next to them. "You did the right thing."

"I'm sorry I did that in front of you," Sabrina apologized.

"You don't have to apologize for anything," Queen Elena smiled, pulling her into a hug.

"Can we still watch the game?" Sabrina sniffed, rubbing her nose.

"Yes. But I think Robert has a little surprise for you and your sisters," Queen Elena smirked, mussing her hair.

"What's that?" Sabrina asked in confusion as Nell came into the room, holding Madeline's hand.

"I bought some extra things when we were at that jewelry vendor," Bobby Lee smiled. "Lucky for me, I found these before Amber bought the place out!" Everyone laughed for a moment, then Bobby Lee handed Madeline and Sabrina each a gold heart-shaped pin.

"Thank you!" Madeline smiled, Sabrina echoing her.

"You three girls have always held special places in my heart," Bobby Lee smiled.

"You're so poetic," Nell chuckled, but then she gasped when Bobby Lee put a star-shaped necklace around her neck. "Robert..."

"I wished on every star I could see that I'd find you," Bobby Lee continued. "This one led me to you and your sisters."

"Robert, you're going to give everyone cavities with all that sugary talk! Let's go watch James and Esteban!" Nell smiled, kissing Bobby Lee on the cheek.

"First, let's get Elena out of timeout so she can watch too," Bobby Lee grinned.


	7. Chapter 7

If Elena had one wish to make, other than kitties, kitties, and more kitties, she would wish that grown-ups and aunties understood how her mind worked.

If they did, then she wouldn't still be feeling the swats on her bottom stinging as she sat down with Madeline and Nell.

She barely glanced at Sabrina, grumpy with her about getting in trouble for being herself.

Now she wanted to take her wish back and wanted to get out of where she was, and maybe do what she did as a three year old, such as streak. Even for a little while.

"No Elena," Madeline muttered, seeing her move around on her stinging bottom. "We're not moving unless you need to go potty."

"I go potty?" Elena asked.

"You went after you had dinner," Madeline replied, checking the clock. "But maybe it can't hurt to check; you've been in timeout for at least two minutes. Is that okay, Nell?"

"Give her another minute, Madeline. We'll check her then," Nell replied.

"Okay...is Sabrina okay? She was really upset before," Madeline asked.

"She'll be fine," Nell assured her. "I'm only sorry she was scared."

"Me too. I know she did the right thing," Madeline smiled a little before she frowned. "We just never gave the girls a swat before."

"I know, and it was a little better than a full-on spanking," Nell muttered, turning away for a moment. "I guess we've spoiled the girls so much lately that Elena thought I would be on her side."

"But you weren't," Madeline recalled as Elena moved around again on her bottom that wouldn't stop stinging.

"You no take Kitty bye-bye?" Elena asked.

"Kitty comes back when you go to bed," Nell replied. "Why don't we let her get to know her new siblings? It's been another minute or so now, so maybe we can let you up to see if you need to go potty."

When they checked saw that Elena was fine, Nell and Madeline let her up from her timeout stool. "But remember, Elena, you have to apologize to everyone, and after James and Chancellor Esteban have their game, you're going to bed," Nell reminded her.

"Okay," Elena agreed, and Nell led her to the sitting room where Esteban and James were getting ready to play their first game.

Madeline waved a friendly hand to Sabrina who waved back as Elena glared at her in anger.

"Elena! Sit!" Nell scolded, seeing her stand out of her seat.

"No!" Elena shouted, crossing her arms. "Auntie Sabrina hurt me and it still hurts so I wanna hurt her too!"

"Good grief," Madeline groaned, focusing on the game and silently cheering on for James.

"Elena Lydia, would you like to go to bed now?" Bianca asked.

"If you go to bed now, you won't get Kitty back until tomorrow," Nell added.

"I stay!" Elena cried.

"Maybe this could help her," Florence suggested, putting a few pillows down for Elena to sit on. "How's that?"

"Good!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands. "But I still mad at Auntie Sabrina!"

"Speaking of mad, Helen Genevieve, I'm mad at you for spoiling the girls during your pregnancy, because that showed how Elena acted tonight," Bianca grumbled, hearing the game begin. "If you weren't an adult, I would put you in time outs that would last longer than Elena Lydia's!"

"We wanted to show the girls that we were still going to love them when a new baby came into our lives," Nell tried to explain. "I know it's probably no excuse, Bianca..."

"I can understand where she's coming from, Miss Bianca," Amber admitted, "I was jealous of Sofia when she first came, but we helped each other through some tough times, and we learned about each other along the way."

"I'll take your word for it, Princess Amber," Bianca smiled, mussing Elena's hair. "Now, Elena Lydia, who do you want to win?"

"James," Elena answered with a smile. "Kitty wants him too."

"I pick the chancellor," Madeline answered, smiling a little. "Just to show my respect to him since he's older."

"They both look like good competitors," Florence smiled; she knew James was good, but she also knew Esteban was smart. Either of them could win.

Meanwhile, James wondered how Ricky was doing. He knew the little guy hadn't been feeling too well earlier. He thought after the game, he'd go with Nell and Bobby Lee to check on him, and maybe, just like he did with Elena and Gabby, he'd sing him a song to cheer him up.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard Queen Elena explain the rules. The first person to solve all the puzzles in front of them would be the winner. There was no time limit, so they could take all the time they needed to think a puzzle through if it was too hard.

James was more than thankful for that, hearing one side cheer him on and the other side cheering for Estéban which, other than Queen Elena and her family, probably was for respect. Still he had to concentrate, not letting anything get to him.

Esteban smiled to himself when he saw James mouthing a song as he worked. He recalled how Francisco would do the same thing as they went head to head before.

"I'll have to ask Prince James what that song is, and if he can sing it for me," Francisco said as he tried to read James' lips.

Bobby Lee was also watching James' lips. "I know that song, sir," he smiled. "The guards and I sometimes sing it back home."

"Apart from word games, Prince James is quite good at music," Bianca smiled. "But let's let him concentrate on his game first, and if he wants to, he can sing for you later."

"Good idea," Bobby Lee grinned, looking at the game. "It gets my mind off Ricky."

"I'm sure it's just a cold. All babies get one," Luisa assured Bobby Lee with a smile. "If it's not don't worry I have an old remedy that might help."

"Wish you were around when Elena and Gabby first had their fevers, Miss Luisa, that would've helped me a whole lot," Nell whispered, thankful that unlike his sisters, Ricky wasn't still feeding from her chest when he started not to feel well.

Esteban looked up from the puzzle he was working on. He remembered the remedy Luisa was talking about. The only way he'd take it if he was sick was if Luisa (or Elena) did the 'here comes the jaquin flying to its nest'.

Queen Elena saw the look on his face and said, "Helen, if Ricky won't take the medicine if he needs it, just do what I did with Esteban. The only way he'd take medicine or eat when he was younger was if my abuela did 'here comes the jaquin flying to its nest!'"

Elena and Gabby giggled, but Florence grinned. "You use jaquins here? All this time I was using airplanes to get Robert to take his medicine!"

"I might have to do that with Bobby Lee or Gabby next time I want them to try something new!" Nell chuckled.

"Oh no! Not me! Let Gab-Gab be your taste tester!" Bobby Lee groaned, looking at the game. "It's hard to tell who's winning."

"James," Elena muttered, drawing on a piece of paper Florence had given her so she wouldn't run off.

"Maybe, but we both know he and Chancellor Esteban are equally good," Bobby Lee smiled.

"Yes, but I think we're about to see the winner," Madeline pointed at the last puzzle.

They watched as James and Esteban went head-to-head on the giant crossword puzzles that Armando had set up. James had to stand on a chair to reach the very top boxes, but he tried his best. He smiled as Roland held the chair steady for him and helped him down when he finished the top row. "Thanks, Dad; I'm sorry I'm short!"

"You're doing fine, James," Roland smiled.

"What are you drawing, Elena?" Sabrina asked, hoping to get on her good side again.

"No talk to you, meanie," Elena grumbled, going back to her drawing.

"She's really mad at me, isn't she?" Sabrina frowned, looking at Madeline and Nell with tears in her eyes.

"Elena's never been swatted before, but don't worry; she'll get over it," Nell assured her. "She's never held a grudge for very long."

"But what if she doesn't forgive me?" Sabrina asked.

"Then we explain why you did what you did," Nell suggested. "She'll understand why it had to be like that."

"Nell, Dad just went back to his seat and I don't want to bother him again," James motioned for her to come over. "I thought I filled out all the squares on the top rows, but I learned that I need to go up there again. Can you just hold the chair steady for me?"

"No problem, James, just be careful when you're balancing on it," Nell smiled as she helped spot him on the chair. "But maybe next time you do crossword puzzles with Chancellor Esteban, they shouldn't be so big or take up so much room. And while I'm with you, maybe you could double check the top rows and make sure you have everything filled out."

"Good idea," James said, reaching out for the top row. "And thank you."

"With my babies being small I'm used to doing this," Nell grinned, seeing her husband watch the girls. "Just try your best. You're against an older man after all."

"Maybe when we get back to Enchancia or on the way back to it, you and I can go for a round?" James smirked, smiling down at the mother of three.

"Be careful what you wish for, James," Nell grinned.

"Oh, it's on, Nell," James grinned back.

"Yay Mommy!" Elena cheered.

"Get him, Mommy!" Gabby giggled.

"Girls, let him finish playing with Estéban first," Nell smirked, holding the chair better so he could stand.

"Yes, Mommy," The girls smiled.

James made sure to double and triple check each row as he filled out the clues. Even though he was careful, Esteban was the one to finish the crossword puzzle first.

"Congratulations, Chancellor Esteban," James said as Esteban and Nell helped him down.

"Thank you, Prince James," Esteban smiled as they shook hands. "You were a formidable opponent, but you are right that perhaps the puzzles should not have been so big. I had to stand on a stool myself to get some of the top rows."

"Well played, both of you," Queen Elena smiled as she came up to them, "Congratulations, cousin! Well done, Prince James!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Chancellor!" Sabrina giggled, clapping her hands.

"Yay James!" Elena cheered, holding up her drawing. "And can sue her too!"

"Sweetheart, did you draw them both?" Florence cooed, taking the drawing for herself.

"Yeah!" Elena smiled. "James wins this game!"

"Thank you, girls," James smiled, "Now can I go check Ricky? I want to tell him, and Sofia and Amber, all about this."

"Yeah!" Gabby smiled as she hugged him.

"Okay," Elena looked a little sad now, "Night-night, James. I sorry, Queen Elena."

"That's right," Bobby Lee looked up. "After the game, Elena has to go to bed."

"And we'll see you in the morning," Queen Elena smiled, giving Elena a hug. "Night-night."

"I hope Ricky is alright," Nell muttered softly upon seeing Bobby Lee take Elena to bed.

"With him being the smallest, I'm hoping with you, Miss Helen," Estéban shrugged, seeing Queen Elena smile. "Richard could've gotten it from anyone of us."

"You're probably right," Nell smiled. "But winter is the prime season for colds. We'll let Ricky rest tonight and see how he is in the morning."

"And he has his little friend Zoomer to keep him company, right?" Madeline asked, knowing that Ricky was now old enough to have little toys in his crib with him.

"Yes, Zoomer will make him feel better, and so will his new friend," Nell smiled. "We'll have to figure out a name for him, won't we?"

"That's right," Bobby Lee said as he passed out the 'official' jaquin adoption papers. "We signed our names on the papers, but we left the jaquin names blank until we thought of a name for them."

"I thought of Butterfly!" Madeline giggled, taking her paper.

"And I thought of Howie!" Sabrina added with a smile.

"Auntie Sabrina and Howie sitting in a tree! Mommy and Daddy how do you spell their names?" Gabby asked before she frowned, hearing Ricky cry.

"First, let's check on Ricky," Bobby Lee said as he watched Madeline write Butterfly's name on her paper, and Sabrina as she wrote Howie on hers. He helped Gabby write the name Lily on her paper, and he helped Elena write Pinky on hers, since Sofia bought her a little pink jaquin that looked like Estrella.

As they walked down to Ricky's nursery, Bobby Lee, Madeline, and Sabrina recalled the new jaquins' names. Since she had a blue and silver jaquin, Nell had named hers Bluebell, and Bobby Lee had named his dark brown and yellow jaquin Sergeant.

"You gave him a rank?" Madeline giggled.

"Well, that's not so strange, since Roland named his Regent," Bobby Lee grinned, recalling the blue and gold jaquin Roland bought. "And since Amber loves jewelry so much, of course she named hers Emerald!"

"James named his Zebra!" Sabrina giggled, remembering James' black and white jaquin, "And Sofia named hers Ella!"

"Well, we didn't want confusion between Elena and Sofia's jaquin," Bobby Lee grinned, recalling Sofia's new pink and purple friend she partly named after Queen Elena. "Miranda named hers Miss Paisley!"

"So we know she's a girl!" Madeline giggled as they came to Ricky's nursery. "We'll help Ricky come up with a name for his new friend too!"

"Hey little guy!" Nell cooed, taking him in her arms. "You okay, Ricky?"

Ricky fussed in frustration as Madeline saw his pale face.

"How about Greenie?" Madeline suggested as Nell rocked a sick Ricky in her arms.

"Not because of Ricky's pajamas is why you picked it?" Bobby Lee joked, seeing that his wife still hadn't learned her lesson of not rocking a sick baby from five years earlier.

"Greenie's cute," Nell smiled as she changed him. "And this is the second time you came up with a name for Ricky's jaquin, Maddie. I have to say it: you're fantastic when it comes to naming kitties!"

"I came up with Zoomer's name too!" Madeline grinned, "Zoomer goes zoom-zoom!"

Ricky giggled softly, but he started fussing again as Nell started walking him around the room.

"We know, buddy," Nell murmured as Luisa came in with a bowl of something. "Here, try this. Luisa says it'll make you feel better."

Ricky fussed when Luisa came up to him. He didn't like the yucky looking stuff in the bowl and turned his head away.

"Come on, _mijo,"_ Luisa crooned. "This will make you feel so much better." She smirked when Ricky turned his head toward Nell, hoping his mommy would stop her. "Okay," she said as she took a spoonful and moved it toward him, "Here comes the jaquin flying to his nest!" She popped the spoon into his mouth when Ricky giggled. "There you go, sweetheart. By tomorrow you should feel so much better!"

"He's still a little fussy," Nell muttered before smiling at Luisa. "Thank you. Jaquins, or kitties, as my Elena sees them as always make Ricky feel better."

"He'll sleep through the night," Luisa grinned, stroking Ricky's hair. "But if he starts to show signs of a fever tomorrow, I'll get our royal doctor."

"Elena doesn't like doctors," Bobby Lee grimaced, knowing how much of a fuss Elena often made when it was time for a check-up.

"We'll play with her!" Sabrina giggled, hugging Howie close.

"And you can sing a song with me to cheer her up if she's still mad," James suggested. "Music has been known to make everything better."

Sabrina smiled. "I think I will. Are you going to sing the song you were doing during the game?"

"No, that one's a little too wild for Elena," James grinned. "But maybe you and I can come up with something."

Sabrina smiled at the thought. She really wanted to cheer up her niece, and if Ricky was experiencing more than just a cold, she wanted to do it right.

Early in the morning, Madeline had been woken up by loud, unfamiliar wails coming from Ricky's nursery.

Getting a stool, she climbed on it, carefully getting a wailing Ricky from his crib.

"You're okay. Mommy's coming soon," Madeline assured him before checking his forehead and screamed.

"Why Auntie Madeline scream?" Gabby yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Ricky woke me up!"

"Where's Nell? I need her here now!" Madeline shouted.

Nell ran in the room. "Madeline, what is it?"

"Ricky's burning up! He needs a doctor now!" Madeline said as Nell felt Ricky's forehead herself.

"You're absolutely right, Madeline," Nell murmured.

"Ricky sick?" Elena frowned, dragging Kitty behind her.

"More than that, Ellie," Madeline muttered, taking her hand. "He needs a doctor."

"No doctors!" Elena cried.

"Elena, the doctor's not for you; he's for Ricky," Madeline explained, "You don't have to worry. The doctor will help Ricky feel better."

"We need to be brave for Ricky," Sabrina murmured, "Elena, I know it's scary, but Ricky needs you to be brave for him. I know you're mad at me, but that doesn't matter now. Ricky's more important than a timeout."

Queen Elena came in with the castle doctor, having heard the conversations and acted quickly. "I found the castle physician, Helen. He'll help Ricky."

"Bye-bye, Ricky," Elena sniffed, feeling tears in her eyes as she cling to Sabrina. "I sorry, Auntie Sabrina!"

"No. I'm the one that should be," Sabrina smiled softly, mussing her hair.

"Why?" Elena asked in confusion. "I bad girl!"

"You didn't know what was going on, so of course you'd be upset," Sabrina assured her. "Everything's going to be fine, Elena. The doctors will take care of Ricky."

"And while they're doing that, we'll play with you!" Gabby giggled, jumping up and down.

"Kitty ride first," Elena said, flapping her hands.

"Kitty ride?" Madeline asked in surprise. "Is this so you don't have to think of Ricky being sick?"

"We ride kitties, please?" Elena asked as Sofia came up.

"Maybe Amber, Isabel, James, and I can take you, Madeline, Sabrina, and Gabby for a ride while you're waiting," she suggested. "I know you probably want to do something to keep your mind off Ricky. Let's ask someone if that's okay, and we'll go from there."

"I can stay with Gabby and go on a jaquin ride later," James offered; he knew how scared Gabby was when she rode a flying horse for the first time.

"Okay, James, if that's what you want to do," Sofia agreed.

"James Kitty," Elena muttered softly, giving it to him. "I brave for Ricky."

"And he'll like that you're brave," James smiled, mussing her hair. "I'll put the kitties in my room so they're safe. They can have a music or word puzzle party of their own while Gabby and I check on Ricky."

As he watched the girls go off to find Isabel, James and Gabby went to Ricky's nursery. They saw the doctor examining Ricky, who was very red in the face and crying as the strange man poked him.

"He's got a nice little fever, Mrs. Johnson," the doctor said a few minutes later. "I'll give you some medicine for him, and he'll be back to his old self in a day or so."

"But we tried a different remedy yesterday and he was worse this morning," Nell frowned. "I know it's possible, but could Ricky be allergic to an ingredient in it?"

"It's possible," the doctor admitted, "I'll run some tests and see what the problem could be."

"Ricky, over here!" Gabby giggled, starting to make a funny face. "Look!"

Ricky stopped crying for a moment as he spotted Gabby's funny face and squealed, clapping his hands.

"James, where are the girls?" Nell asked, wanting to scold Gabby, but didn't have the heart to do so.

"Elena wanted to ride a jaquin, so they're asking someone if they can," James answered, smiling at Ricky giggling.

Nell was about to start lecturing James about asking her about this first next time, when Elena came in with Sabrina. "How Ricky, Mommy?" Elena asked, stroking Ricky's hair.

"He needs a few more tests to see if something in Ms. Luisa's medicine made him sick," Nell started, "But I hear that you wanted to ride a jaquin with the other kids."

"It didn't happen, if you're worried about that. The jaquins were busy with the babies, so we said we'd come back later," Sofia said as she came up. "We're sorry we didn't ask you first, Nell, but you were probably busy with Ricky. But we did see Mister Francisco, and he took us out."

"Well, as long as you had adult supervision, I can forgive you," Nell smiled. "Besides, Ricky's had enough with being poked at. And I think he'll probably hate doctors as much as you do when he's older, Love Bug."

"Is that a good exam pole?" Elena asked with a smile.

"No. It's not," Madeline grinned, mussing her hair before turning to Ricky. "Sorry you're still sick, little guy."

"Maybe he's growing another tooth?" Sabrina suggested, hoping that it was the case instead.

"I did see a tooth starting to poke through when he opened his mouth," the doctor smiled as he gave Nell some medicine for Ricky, "But he's got a little fever too. However, you will be pleased to know that he's not allergic to any of the ingredients in the medicines Queen Elena's grandmother or I gave him."

"That's good," Nell smiled. "So just wait a day or so and see if he feels better?"

"That's right. Make sure he gets plenty of rest, drinks lots of liquids, and this little friend of his with him can't hurt him, either," the doctor said as he picked up Zoomer, who had fallen on the floor during Ricky's examination.

Ricky cooed softly as he put Zoomer in his mouth. He liked chewing Zoomer's wings when he was teething.

"Ricky happy again!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Elena, hold on for a second. Auntie Sabrina and I want to talk to you," Madeline said, taking her hand.

"Why?" Elena frowned, looking at Ricky. "I sister too."

"We know, but we want to have a little sister time with our niece," Sabrina smiled.

"Sister time?" Elena giggled.

"This won't take long," Madeline assured her, "We'll just talk for a minute, then you can go back to Ricky."

"Okay," Elena smiled as she went with them. She rarely went into either of the twins' rooms back home, but now that she was in Avalor, the first thing Elena spotted was Butterfly and Howie.

"Is she in trouble, Maddie?" Sabrina questioned, seeing their niece talk to their toys.

"No, but I think you two should make your peace with each other," Madeline started, "She was really mad at you for what happened yesterday. She seems okay now, but I think she needs to understand why you did what you did."

"I think you're right," Sabrina mused. "Nell wanted to talk to her about it, but she got sidetracked with Ricky."

"Well He is the centerpiece of her attention," Madeline joked, calling Elena over to them.

"What I do?" Elena asked, a little confused.

"Nothing, sweetheart," Sabrina assured her before taking her in her lap. "Elena, you remember last night when you were bad?"

"Yes. And you swat me and they hurt," Elena frowned, feeling her anger return.

"I'm sorry I did that, Elena," Sabrina apologized. "But Nell had to take care of Ricky. She couldn't play with you when he was sick. Bobby Lee was worried about him too." She saw that Elena was about to start pouting again, so she continued, "Do you like to play with us or Gabby when you get sick?"

"No," Elena shook her head. "I like to hug Kitty if I sick."

"That's kind of like what Ricky wanted to do," Sabrina replied. "He wanted to hug Nell since he didn't feel good. Nell wanted to take care of him and put him to bed so he could rest and start getting better."

"So I bad girl?" Elena frowned, realizing what she was saying.

"You _were_ a bad girl," Madeline corrected with a smile. "And we know how it feels when we get a swat too."

"And it stings really bad!" Sabrina groaned, remembering the last time she or Madeline had gotten a swat on the bottom from their older sister. "Your mommy's hand is not a friendly person when we need a swat."

"But you did learn a lesson, right?" Madeline asked. "When Mommy has to do something else, you wait, or come to someone else if you want to play?"

"Okay," Elena nodded. "I sorry."

"We forgive you," Sabrina grinned, kissing her cheek. "I didn't like doing what I did last night, and I saw you moving around because of the stinging."

"I no like stinging," Elena muttered, rubbing her bottom.

"Nobody does," Sabrina assured her, "And I won't do it again unless you really deserve it. Okay?"

"Okay," Elena smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

While Madeline and Sabrina were talking with Elena, James offered to watch Ricky and Gabby while Nell and Bobby Lee had some alone time together.

Sofia and Amber came in as they saw James rocking Ricky and singing to him, while Gabby was playing with James' stuffed jaquin Zebra, Greenie, and her own Lily.

"How's it going?" Sofia asked.

"Pretty good," James smiled. "Ricky fell asleep thanks to that song Mom used to sing to me and Amber, and Gabby's busy with her kitty party."

"Sofia and I were just going to take a walk around the palace. You can join us if you want," Amber offered with a smile.

"Not while I'm on babysitting duty," James smiled, putting Ricky in his crib. "Besides, you know Gabby and her leg."

"But I wanna walk!" Gabby pouted, hearing their conversation.

"Maybe we could take you for a walk down the hall," Amber suggested. "We could do a quick stroll and bring you back. Would that be okay?"

"Would what be okay, Princess Amber?" Bianca asked, coming in to check on Ricky.

"Sofia and I were thinking we'd take Gabby for a walk around the palace," Amber repeated. "Is that all right?"

"Well, as long as I go with you, and Gabby Anna promises not to overdo it, I suppose a quick walk would be all right," Bianca smiled. "But you understand that it will be quick. Helen Genevieve and Robert Lee will be back in an hour, and I don't want to get any of you in trouble."

"We be good!" Gabby promised, holding up her kitty.

"I'm glad to hear it," Bianca mused, seeing Ricky asleep. "But no bothering Richard Edward when you get back. He's exhausted enough as it is."

"What that mean?" Gabby asked, a little confused.

"Exhausted?" Sofia teased as Bianca took Gabby by the arm.

"He's tired, sweetheart," Bianca explained. "He's been sick, so he wants to rest. But he should be back to his old self either tomorrow or the next day."

"Okay," Gabby whispered. "You go night-night, Ricky. If you want, we play tomorrow!"

Ricky woke up briefly, cooed at his big sister, then fell asleep in James' arms again.

"And maybe we can ask your aunties and Elena if they want to join," Amber grinned, mussing her hair.

"No. I good," Gabby smiled, carefully walking by herself.

"All right," Bianca smiled. "We'll go slowly so you can keep up with us."

"Let's go!" Gabby giggled, but she held Sofia's arm.

"You'll be okay, Gabby," Sofia smiled. "Nell says you get better every time you go to the doctor's. You could think of this walk as practice before your next appointment."

"When I go back?" Gabby asked.

"Not for a few weeks," Amber assured her. "Nell always writes down your appointments so they know when to take you. This trip is just for a few days, but we'll be home soon so you won't miss it."

"Elena's gonna be sad when we leave," Gabby frowned, looking at the ground.

"But she can tell Snow White all about it," Bianca assured her, kissing her cheek. "Gabby Anna, you shouldn't worry about her being sad. Elena Lydia is tougher than that."

"Like with mean boy Jack?" Gabby asked in confusion. "Because of his daddy, he's nice now."

Bianca nodded, recalling how Jack's parents had separated. She knew that for his entire life, Jack had been given mixed messages on how to treat others; his father had always told him that teasing was not acceptable, while his mother had encouraged his behavior toward Elena and Gabby. She had often tried herself to talk to her, but Jack's mother wouldn't listen. "Maybe so, dear, but I've noticed that Elena Lydia still doesn't trust Jack."

"Why?" Gabby asked.

"Well, he's teased her for years," Bianca replied. "She thinks he won't stop doing it, even if he's in a different class and only living with his aunt and daddy, who are more positive role models and teach him how to behave."

"She just doesn't trust him not to tease her yet," Sofia agreed. "Trust is something that has to be earned, and Jack has a long way to go before he gains Elena's trust."

"Like me and doggies?" Gabby smiled, trying to run a little.

"Yeah. Just like you and doggies," Amber assured her with a smile as Madeline bumped into her.

"Elena's too upset," Madeline apologized, dusting off her dress. "I think our talk with her got to her a little."

"Well then, I think we should go see her and try to cheer her up," Bianca smiled. Nell had told her about the events leading up to Elena's timeout, and how Sabrina had swatted her on the bottom.

"Do you want to come with us, Gabby?" Sofia asked.

"Yeah!" Gabby smiled. "I wanna help Elena too!" She had been with Florence after she left James' room before his game with Esteban, so she hadn't seen what Sabrina had done. She just thought Elena had a meltdown and was sitting in her quiet area to calm down. She didn't know she was there for timeout. But now she felt awful. Her twin was upset with something she didn't understand.

Gabby tried to understand Elena sometimes. She tried to understand why Elena didn't like food touching, she tried to understand why Elena was a little slow when it came to writing and listening to story time, and she even tried to understand why Elena would forget their bedtime routine and have accidents.

But she still loved her twin. Even if understanding her was difficult sometimes.

She watched as Bianca knocked on the door. "Elena Lydia, are you all right?"

"Gabby!" Elena smiled as she came over and hugged her. Thankfully, the pain of the swats had gone away, so it felt good to sit again.

"You okay?" Gabby asked.

"Yeah," Elena smiled.

"You wanna talk about it?" Gabby asked.

"Not now," Elena admitted.

"We're sorry we made you cry, Elena," Sabrina apologized with a frown, hugging her close.

"You did get me sad," Elena remembered, looking at her hands.

"Why?" Gabby asked, confused as she handed her kitty to Elena.

"I was a bad girl and Auntie Sabrina swatted me," Elena admitted.

"Oh, yes, Robert Lee told me about that," Bianca mused. "Well, hopefully you learned your lesson."

"I did and I be a very good girl," Elena smiled, looking around. "Maybe we can ride the kitties now?"

"If they're not busy," Sofia reminded her with a smile. "Remember baby kitties need attention just like Ricky."

"But they don't look like him," Elena said, petting Kitty a little.

"Maybe not, but they're little and sometimes their Mommy and Daddy need to stay with them," Amber said reasonably. "They might have to give them extra attention for some reason so they can't play when you want them to."

"Okay," Elena nodded.

"We can ask the jaquins if they're free to give you a ride," Sofia suggested. "But remember, if they say it's all right, someone has to ride with you."

"Okay," Elena smiled.

"Good girl," Bianca cooed, musing her hair. "You're becoming such a big girl, Elena Lydia!"

"I like being big girl!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"You've shown us that you can be a big girl," Madeline smirked, playfully taking Kitty from her.

"I have?" Elena questioned, trying to reach for Kitty.

"Yes," Madeline smiled. "You tried new food and ate like a big girl, you didn't run off when Nell and Bobby Lee gave you a bath, and you did your timeout without a whole lot of complaint."

"Yay! We see kitties now?" Elena asked.

"Yes, sweetheart, we see kitties now," Bianca smiled.

"Kitties! Kitties!" Elena sung with a giggle as Gabby ran beside her.

"Maddie, you okay?" Sabrina asked, seeing her frown. "Are your arms itchy again?"

"No, but I have a little headache," Madeline groaned, seeing Sabrina's worried glance. "I better go lay down."

"Sabrina, are you okay?" Amber asked, patting her shoulder. "This is a vacation for all of us. You shouldn't have to worry."

"I just want to sit down for a minute," Madeline murmured.

"I'm getting Nell," Sofia spoke up, "She'll take care of you, Madeline."

Sofia ran off to where Nell and Bobby Lee said they'd be walking, and she hoped Madeline would be okay.

"She didn't have to do this," Madeline murmured.

"We know, but we care about you, Maddie," Amber smiled. "Sofia will find Nell, and she'll help you with whatever's wrong."

"I just feel like Elena! I always take everyone's joy away!" Madeline shouted before she started to cry.

"Why would you think that?" Sabrina asked, stroking her hair.

"I don't know. She always needs special attention because of her autism and every time I don't feel well or my arms look red, I always have to take Nell's time away!" Madeline sniffed, burying her head in Sabrina's chest.

"Maddie, her time can be at a different day. Not you," Sabrina assured her, doing what their sister often did with their nieces.

"Is everything okay? I could hear you shouting," Nell said as she and Bobby Lee came up with Sofia and Amber.

"I've had a headache since this morning," Madeline admitted. "I didn't think it was so bad at first, but my head hurts even more now."

"Maddie, come here," Nell murmured, sitting down with her. "It's going to be all right. Lucky for us, the doctor who examined Ricky is still around, so we can have him take a look at you."

"But Elena, Gabby, and Ricky are so much more important than me," Madeline protested.

"Madeline Elizabeth O'Malley, do not ever put yourself down like that again," Nell said firmly, "You, Sabrina, and I have been sisters longer than I've been a mother. I actually got my first taste of motherhood when I was helping Mama and Papa raise you. And we took care of each other when we were Jimmy's prisoners. You and Sabrina wanted to help take care of me too when we learned that I was pregnant, and I appreciated every second we were together."

"But I interrupted your time together," Madeline sniffed, hugging Nell close.

"Believe me we've been interrupted by much worse than you not feeling well," Bobby Lee mused, stroking her hair.

"You have?" Madeline smiled a little. "By who? With what?"

"I'll tell you later, little Butterfly," Nell murmured as Amber came up with the doctor who had taken care of Ricky.

"Headache, is it?" the doctor asked. "Well, let's take a look."

Elena cuddled up next to Madeline and handed her Butterfly. "You can hug your Kitty while you sick."

"Thanks, Elena," Madeline smiled a little. "Kitties do make everything better, don't they?"

"Yeah!" Elena giggled, dancing around with Kitty.

"But why aren't you with the big flying kitties?" Madeline asked, knowing how excited she had been.

"Auntie Madeline first," Elena explained with a smile. "Kitties later."

"We've taught you so well," Sofia smiled, hugging her. "Just for that, I'll take you on a jaquin ride after the doctor checks out Madeline."

"Yes, Love Bug, you earned it," Nell smiled.

"Yay!" Elena cheered, dancing around with Sofia.

At that moment, the doctor came in to check Madeline.

"Nell please don't leave," Madeline whimpered, trying not to cry.

"Butterfly, I would never do that," Nell assured with a kiss on the cheek.

"I don't want him to find the scars," Madeline whispered, close to crying. "E-Elena can't see them."

"It'll be all right, Madeline," Nell murmured. "But if you want, we can have Elena sent out of the room. That way, we can explain in confidence about the scars if he asks about them."

"He won't tell anyone about them?" Madeline asked.

"That's right. Bobby Lee and Florence call it doctor-patient confidentiality," Nell assured her. "That means the doctor can't tell anyone about what we talk about."

The last thing Madeline wanted was to talk to someone she barely knew about the scars, and how she got them. But she did trust Nell to make sure their discussion was kept between the three of them. "Okay," she murmured.

"Everything's going to be all right, Maddie, I promise," Nell smiled as the doctor came in.

"The younger one is your patient, doctor," Bobby Lee greeted, taking Elena in his arms. "Be mindful she's a little scared."

"But she have her kitty," Elena frowned, not understanding.

"And she can most definitely keep her little friend with her," the doctor smiled, patting Butterfly on the head.

"Thank you," Madeline whispered as he looked her over.

"How long have you had this headache, Madeline?" the doctor asked.

"Since this morning," Madeline admitted. "It wasn't really bad at first, but this afternoon, it still hadn't gone away."

"Have you had this headache before?" The doctor asked, checking her heartbeat.

"When I was five, sir, but I don't remember much," Madeline answered with a frown.

"Do you remember, Mrs. Johnson?" The doctor questioned, unbuttoning Madeline's dress so she could start taking deep breaths.

Nell nodded. She knew she'd have to tell the doctor about her and her sisters' ordeal, but she didn't want Elena in the room when she started explaining. She looked toward Bobby Lee and Elena, and then toward the door.

"Come on, Love Bug," Bobby Lee murmured, taking the hint, "Let's let the doctor take care of Auntie Madeline. You, Sofia, and I can go see the kitties."

"Okay!" Elena cheered, but before she left, she gave Madeline a hug. "Kitty can stay with you and you be all better."

"Thanks, Elena," Madeline smiled as they left the room and Bobby Lee shut the door behind him.

Nell explained her and her sisters' ordeal to the doctor as Madeline nuzzled her and Elena's kitty against her.

She didn't want to think of her ordeal anymore, clutching onto the kitties as tight as she could.

"Well, first I must tell you both that you are exceptionally brave young ladies," the doctor smiled.

"Thank you, sir, but do you promise not to tell anyone about this?" Madeline asked.

The doctor squeezed her hand. "I promise, everything we say will not leave this room."

"Thank you, sir," Madeline sighed in relief before feeling him touch her arms. "Ow! Careful please!"

"I'll prescribe some cream for those arms," the doctor apologized, helping her up. "Can you tell me what you feel when you have these headaches?"

"Sometimes I feel dizzy when I have them," Madeline admitted. "Other times I feel like something's trying to jump out of my head, and that's when my head really hurts."

"Do you feel sick at all when you have these headaches, or do sounds or light make them worse?" the doctor asked.

"I don't really feel sick," Madeline replied, "But sometimes when Elena starts screaming, it makes my head hurt and I want to go someplace quiet."

"Oh yes," Nell murmured, "Sometimes when she has a meltdown, I've seen you running to your room."

"So loud noise increases the pain," the doctor noted, gently touching Madeline on the head.

"Yes, but I can't just yell at Elena to be quiet," Madeline frowned, looking a bit timid.

"Elena has autism," Nell explained to the doctor. "When she's angry, she has what we call meltdowns, which sometimes include screaming. I've sometimes seen Madeline running to a quiet place after she says that her head hurts."

"So you don't have to hear it?" the doctor asked. "Do you feel better when these meltdowns end and it's quieter?"

"Yeah," Madeline nodded. "I just can't take her screaming."

"Do you love Elena?" The doctor asked with a smile.

"Yes sir," Madeline muttered softly, twirling a lock of hair.

"Then there might be something you could do to help her when she starts screaming," the doctor suggested.

"Elena has a feelings puzzle she uses to tell us how she's feeling, and I sometimes help her with that," Madeline offered. "I used to read to her, and we played together."

"Those are good things to keep doing," the doctor smiled.

"I want to do them again," Madeline smiled a little.

"What can we do about her headaches?" Nell asked, squeezing Madeline's hand.

"Well, I can prescribe some medicine for her to help with the more severe headaches, and some different medicine for the lesser ones," the doctor suggested. "But since I'm not Madeline's primary physician, I suggest that you take her to your doctor when you go home and ask for their opinion. You should also tell them about everything we discussed and see what they have to say."

"I think that's a good idea," Nell agreed. "I was taking notes on everything you said, so I'll be able to tell the doctor all about this."

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone about this!" Madeline started to tear up.

"It's all right, Maddie," Nell assured her, "I'm only sharing his opinion with your regular doctor. He might agree with the plan, or if he doesn't, he can give us another idea on how to help you. You want to stop the headaches, don't you?"

"Yes," Madeline nodded. "I do want them to stop."

"Good girl," Nell smiled, hearing her start to yawn. "How about we watch Elena and Sofia in a night time kitty ride and get you to bed?"

"Okay," Madeline murmured. "Thank you, Nell."

"It's what big sisters do," Nell smiled, then she turned to the doctor. "Thank you, doctor."

"My pleasure," the doctor smiled. "Enjoy your kitty ride, and have a good night."

"You too," Madeline smiled as he left.

"Come on. Hopefully they haven't left yet," Nell grinned, carrying Madeline over her shoulders.

"I thought I was too big for this!" Madeline playfully teased with a smile.

"You're not that big," Nell smirked, taking the kitties in her arms.

They arrived in time to see Elena and her namesake sitting on Skylar. Elena was so excited that she could hardly sit still.

"Nell! Madeline! Do you want to come with us?" Queen Elena asked.

"Can I? You can come too, but can you stay with me?" Madeline asked.

"I'd love to," Nell grinned, mussing her hair and sitting behind her on Luna.

"Kitty ride! Kitty ride!" Elena giggled, trying to keep herself together.

"I hope that I'm not as bad when we hit the air," Madeline joked with a smile.

"You'll be fine," Nell assured her, "Sofia let you ride Minimus before, so this is kind of the same thing."

"Ready, everyone? Here we go!" Queen Elena called as Skylar and Luna took off.

Elena shrieked happily in her namesake's arms. "I fly on kitty!" she cheered.

"We're all flying on kitties," Madeline smiled.

"Auntie Madeline better?" Elena asked, looking at her with a frown.

"Yes I'm better," Madeline assured her with a smile.

"Ricky get better too?" Elena wondered hopefully.

"I'm sure he will," Madeline smiled. "His color was coming back the last time Nell and I checked on him, and Mrs. Luisa said he'd probably be better tomorrow."

"Yay! We take Ricky for kitty ride?" Elena cheered, being careful not to flap her hands so she wouldn't fall off Skylar.

"If he's up to it," Nell agreed.


	9. Chapter 9

"Are you feeling better, little guy?" Madeline asked, sneaking into Ricky's nursery as he looked at her. "I know Mommy is asleep, but that's because she's old."

Ricky cooed, clutching onto Zoomer with a smile, resting his head on her chest as Madeline took him in her arms.

"Auntie Madeline!" Gabby screamed, burying her face in Madeline's nightgown as tears filled her eyes.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Madeline asked, being as careful as she could with Ricky.

"Yeah...mean lady made big doggies run at me," Gabby sniffled.

"Gabby, it was just a dream," Madeline murmured, putting Ricky back in his crib and taking Gabby on her lap. "The mean lady's not here. There are no doggies here either."

"Madeline? Is Gabby okay? And Ricky?" Nell asked as she ran in the room.

"I was just checking on Ricky, and he feels a lot better," Madeline smiled. "Gabby had a bad dream about big doggies and the mean lady Elena dreamed about."

"Well, it's good that Ricky feels better," Nell smiled, feeling Ricky's forehead and nodding when he felt much cooler and his color had returned to normal. "Why don't we put him back to bed, and then we help Gabby?"

"Okay," Madeline smiled, taking a sniffing Gabby by the hand. "You and Elena don't like that mean lady, do you?"

"No. She's scary," Gabby sniffed, rubbing her nose.

"Well, Sofia or Queen Elena don't like her either, so you're not alone," Nell muttered, taking Gabby in her arms. "Let's go to my room and talk about it."

"Auntie Madeline stay too, please?" Gabby begged.

"Well, since I checked Ricky, and he seems to be okay, I can stay for a minute," Madeline decided. "We'll keep the door open so we can hear him if he needs us."

"Okay," Gabby whispered as she hugged her.

"But he'll only cry if he wants me or has a nightmare himself," Nell mused, stroking her hair.

"Babies get nightmares?" Gabby asked in confusion. "What about?"

"It can be about anything," Nell replied, "You used to have nightmares about dogs, but you got over that...at least until today. And Madeline used to have nightmares about fire, but she's getting over that."

"We're all scared of something, Gabby, and it's nothing to be ashamed of," Madeline agreed.

"No mean lady?" Gabby asked.

"No, the mean lady's not here, and she can't get you," Nell smiled. "Queen Elena will make sure of it."

"With her scepter?" Gabby asked as she crawled under Nell and Bobby Lee's covers.

"Yes, with her scepter!" Madeline giggled, seeing Gabby crawl around. "Come on. Tell Nell and me about your nightmare, okay?"

"The mean lady had a big doggie with her," Gabby started, looking around for her kitty, but she forgot that her jaquin was with Elena, Kitty, and Pinky. She cuddled Nell's jaquin Bluebell as she continued. "I run, but mean lady and her doggie caught me and the doggie bit me."

"Now that she mentions it, I thought I'd seen Gabby rubbing her leg when I came to check on her," Madeline murmured.

"Gabby, sweetheart, it was a dream, and dreams can't hurt you," Nell murmured, taking her on her lap and rocking her. "You're safe, and you have so many friends around to keep the mean lady and her doggies away."

"Promise?" Gabby asked.

"I promise," Nell smiled.

"Me too!" Madeline agreed.

"Now that's settled, does my little girl need to use the potty?" Nell asked, stroking Gabby's hair.

"No, Mommy," Gabby muttered, looking at her hands.

"You didn't have an accident, did you?" Nell asked.

"No," Gabby shook her head.

"She didn't, Nell," Madeline confirmed. "I checked her before I sat on the bed with her."

"Well, let's try anyway before we take you back to bed," Nell suggested. "The walk might give you time to calm down."

"Okay," Gabby agreed.

"Good girl," Nell smiled before hearing Ricky crying.

"I'll get him," Madeline offered, pushing Nell out the door. "Gabby needs your attention now."

"Thanks, Maddie," Nell smiled.

Nell took Gabby to the bathroom while Madeline checked on Ricky. "You feel better, Ricky?" she asked. She smiled as Ricky cooed up at her, and she obliged by waving Zoomer around. "Zoom-zoom-zoom! Zoomer goes zoom-zoom!"

Ricky giggled happily at the song, but suddenly, he squealed when he saw a blue blur flying around him.

"I go zoom-zoom too!" Zoom purred, nuzzling him and Madeline.

"Hi, kitty!" Gabby smiled as she and Nell came back.

"I suppose it's true what they say: kitties make everything better," Nell smiled as she stroked Zoom.

"Zoom! Come here, little guy!" Queen Elena chuckled as the baby jaquin nuzzled against Ricky.

"Did he fly off from wherever he was?" Nell joked, smiling at Madeline's interaction with Ricky.

"He bad kitty!" Gabby giggled, clapping her hands.

"There's no such thing as a bad kitty," Queen Elena smiled. "I think Zoom heard Gabby cry and wanted to help her."

"I think it was Gabby's turn to have a nightmare about Shuriki," Nell explained. "This time, Shuriki had big dogs with her."

"Well, we know that Shuriki's gone, and there aren't any dogs around to bother you," Queen Elena smiled as she took Gabby in her arms. "We'll keep you safe, sweetheart, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," Gabby smiled, giggling as Zoom sniffed and nuzzled against her. "I'm not food!"

"I guess Elena's sleeping in after her kitty ride?" Madeline wondered with a smile.

"She definitely is, Madeline," Florence smirked, musing her hair playfully.

"Elena Lydia will have wonderful dreams now," Bianca smiled as she stroked Zoom. "Florence and I were watching her as Queen Elena flew her around on Skylar, and he was quite gentle with her."

"You two haven't gone on a jaquin ride yet; how would you like to do that before you leave?" Queen Elena offered.

"We would love to," Bianca grinned, stroking Zoom. "It's not every day that we get to do something like that."

"Is it morning, Mommy?" Gabby asked, tugging on Nell's nightdress.

"Yes, sweetheart, but if you want, you can go back to sleep," Nell said as she hugged her.

"Okay, I nap nap, but kitty stays?" Gabby asked, reaching out for Zoom.

"I don't see why not," Queen Elena smiled. "This might be good protector training for Zoom, keeping nightmares away."

"Yay!" Gabby giggled with Zoom flying behind her.

"Hopefully Elena doesn't get jealous that her sister gets a kitty to sleep with her," Madeline smiled as Nell covered her in kisses. "Hey! Stop it, Nell!"

"I don't think so," Nell smirked before seeing Elena hugging Gabe's legs again as he had difficulty getting her off.

"What are you doing to Gabe?" Queen Elena smirked playfully, mussing her hair.

"Giving him hug," Elena answered with a smile.

"But does he like your hug?" Nell asked, making Madeline shriek with giggles.

"And I thought her last attack on me was cute," Gabe smiled as he finally picked her up and tossed her in the air. When he caught Elena again, he said, "You have the right to remain adorable. Anything you say can and will be used against you..."

"Captain, do you think you could write that down?" Bobby Lee grinned. "I know a few guards back home who would love to use that when Elena comes up and watches us!"

"Obviously, Chancellor Esteban and I aren't the only ones good with words," James said as he came up to them. "I went to check on Ricky and he looks like he's over his cold."

"We know, James, we found that out a little while ago," Nell smiled. "But thanks for taking care of him."

"Ricky better?" Elena smiled, flapping her hands.

"Yes. He's better," Madeline smiled, mussing her hair. "I checked him this morning."

"And what about you, Madeline? Are you okay?" Sabrina asked.

"I'm feeling better," Madeline smiled, "Thanks to Nell and the doctor."

"His name was Doctor Thomas," Nell remembered.

"Okay, but what medicine did he give you this time?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, he gave her two different medicines for her headaches," Nell started. "One kind is for lesser headaches, and the other is for the more severe headaches...and he gave her some cream for her arms since they were looking red."

"And did he ask about her scars?" Sabrina whispered.

"Yes, but he also promised he wouldn't tell anyone about them," Madeline whispered back.

"I see Ricky now?" Elena asked, looking at Gabe. "And you come, Mr. Gabe."

"Thank you but I have to watch over the grand council this morning," Gabe smiled, mussing her hair.

"I go too?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Get her drawing paper and lots of crayons. You won't even hear a peep the entire time," Nell joked, smiling softly at Queen Elena.

"I don't see why not," Queen Elena smiled. "I might even let her bang the gavel to bring the meeting to order, and again to tell them the meeting's adjourned."

"She'll love that, just like another Elena I know," Gabe chuckled, knowing how much Queen Elena liked banging the gavel, and how much it annoyed Chancellor Esteban.

"Yay! I come!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands. "Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!"

"Have fun," Nell smirked, kissing her cheek. "But be good!"

"I be good!" Elena promised as Queen Elena ushered her inside.

"And it's lucky for her that everyone on the Grand Council loves seeing her," Nell smirked as the door closed.

"She'll be fine," Bobby Lee assured her, "But we'll have to watch out if she has Queen Elena make new rules!"

"Like every house in Avalor has to have a kitty!" Nell grinned.

"I don't think that'll happen," Madeline smirked, hearing Ricky start to wake up as she and Sabrina ran to his nursery.

"Maybe Maddie is right. But with Elena knowing her name, she'll probably sneak a few rules in," Nell mused as Bobby Lee kissed her on the cheek.

"Knowing that she has the right to be adorable, that might happen," Bobby Lee smirked, taking Nell by the waist. "But not as much as you."

"You think that way about me?" Nell smirked, feeling herself being pulled into a short kiss on the lips.

"I do. Helen, you're the prettiest, most adorable girl I've ever known," Bobby Lee smiled.

"Yeah, well, when you rescued me I didn't look so great," Nell muttered.

"Helen, you could have been dressed in a moth hole-covered tablecloth, and I'd still think you were the most beautiful person in the world," Bobby Lee smiled.

"That's pretty much what I was wearing when you rescued me!" Nell joked.

"Nell! Ricky wants you!" Madeline yelled as a crying Ricky calmed down at the sight of his mommy.

"See? This is why our flirting can't last long. Because of our son!" Bobby Lee joked, stroking Ricky's hair. "Everyone's happy you're better, buddy. And look at that! A new tooth!"

"Where?" Sabrina wondered, handing Ricky Zoomer.

"Right there," Bobby Lee pointed at Ricky's new tooth, which he was breaking in with Zoomer's help.

"Is that why Ricky's been crying?" Sabrina asked, although she knew that Ricky had been fussy while he was sick.

"Well, that too," Bobby Lee smiled.

"He's not as fussy as he was in Wassailia," Madeline recalled with a smile.

"True," Nell smiled, tickling Ricky's tummy. "But no matter what tooth he'll grow, it'll cause him pain."

"Where's his new tooth at?" Madeline frowned at the mention of Ricky being in pain.

"Here," Bobby Lee pointed at Ricky's mouth, where Madeline saw a new tooth starting to poke through.

"Will he need some more medicine?" Sabrina asked.

"Trust us, Sabrina, Ricky will let us know if he needs medicine," Nell smiled. She glanced at Ricky who snuggled on her chest. "Right now, he's a snuggle bug."

"Is that a new nickname I hear?" Bobby Lee joked, stroking Ricky's hair.

"Maybe," James grinned beside him. "But we might want to warn Elena. She won't be happy if she thinks there's a threat to her territory!"

"Our little love bug jealous of a nickname? No way!" Bobby Lee grinned as Nell gave him a look of mock horror. "She knows the difference between 'love bug' and 'snuggle bug!'"

Ricky cooed, sucking on Nell's blouse as he looked up her with a smile.

"Are you hungry?" Madeline cooed, holding out her hands. "Nell I wanna feed him! Please?!"

"Okay, but just be careful," Nell agreed. "When he's teething, Ricky tends to bite."

"I know, I remember his first tooth," Madeline shuddered. "But hopefully since he has a few more, it won't be as bad, right?"

"Well, Ricky does know what a tooth growing in feels like," Nell agreed. "But you do make a good point. So yes, it can't hurt to give him a bottle or a little cracker to help with the teething."

"Yay!" Madeline giggled, carefully taking Ricky in her arms. "Come on Ricky, Auntie Madeline's gonna feed you a bottle. Would you like that?"

Ricky squealed, clapping his hands happily as Madeline bounced him up and down in her arms.

"Just hope he doesn't bite you and turn you into a werewolf!" Bobby Lee joked with a smile.

"Robert, stop it," Nell grinned, kissing his cheek.

"Aaaawhooo!" Madeline howled.

"Madeline..." Nell frowned, but it turned into a smile when Ricky squealed back, as if he was also howling. "Oh, great, now you've got Ricky doing it! Okay, my little wolf cubs, time to settle down."

"No fair!" Madeline playfully pouted, trying to find Ricky a bottle. "Nell, where are his bottles?"

"Diaper bag. Next to his spare sets of clothes," Nell answered, trying not to laugh at Ricky chewing on her sister's hair.

"Here you go, Ricky," Madeline smiled as she found it. Her smile widened as Ricky started drinking and he didn't bite her.

As she fed Ricky, Madeline smiled as Bobby Lee started singing quietly, "Aaawhooo...Werewolves of London! Aaawhooo!"

"Robert, you're as bad as James!" Nell smirked. "And if you two start singing that song...!"

"But I thought James was good when it came to music," Madeline looked confused.

"Yes he is, and with words," Nell grinned in spite of herself. She knew how James and Bobby Lee had sung _The Streak_ during Elena's streaking incident, and now they had been inspired by one of the songs the guards liked singing on Halloween.

"Speaking of words," Naomi grinned, closing the door with Queen Elena and her grandparents walking behind her. "Estéban is going your Elena a talk."

"Did she request anything with kitties?" Bobby Lee joked with a smile as Ricky reached out for Naomi.

"After your Elena brought the meeting to order, which she loved doing, she requested that our Elena make a rule that every house in Avalor has to have a kitty, and everyone is required to sing a kitty song every day," Naomi grinned as she took Ricky. "Francisco, Gabe, and Luisa all thought her ideas were so cute! Esteban, not so much...but then again, Esteban doesn't like anything cute! Your Elena didn't get too upset; she just went back to her drawing and the meeting continued. But she did get to bang the gavel again to end it."

"That's our future Grand Councilwoman!" Bobby Lee grinned as Queen Elena brought her namesake out to him.

"I know you wanted your rules to happen, but Avalor just isn't ready yet for kitty rules," Queen Elena smiled, hugging Elena close. "Besides, we have serious rules in place for a reason."

"Okay," Elena smiled, holding up her drawing. "But everyone does need a kitty."

"What did you draw?" Naomi smirked, trying to hold back a laugh.

Elena proudly held up her drawing, and Naomi smiled when she saw the picture. Elena had drawn the Grand Council as kitties, and the cat version of herself was in the cat version of Queen Elena's arms. She had given Francisco's character a guitar, and the cat versions of everyone was singing, even the cat Esteban.

"That picture never gets displayed in the palace!" Esteban frowned.

"Don't worry, Chancellor, we'll display it in our castle!" Nell grinned.

"I'm just wondering how she got all of us so perfectly!" Naomi chuckled, taking the drawing for herself. "She even got Estéban's gray streaks!"

"Drawing realistic drawings at home," Nell smirked, taking Elena in her arms.

"You kitty next?" Elena smiled, seeing one of Ricky's teething crackers in her pocket.

"You want to draw us as kitties?" Madeline giggled.

"I'd love to see that!" Nell grinned.

"I think everyone would love to see that!" Queen Elena smiled. "And make sure she makes a copy of her picture for here! No matter what Esteban says, that picture can be displayed here!"

"Yay!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down.

"What, kitty?" Gabby yawned, feeling Zoom nuzzling her face.

"How was your nap?" Madeline asked with a smile, giving her a hug.

"Nap nap was good," Gabby smiled. "Kitty protect me from mean lady!"

"Thank you, Zoom!" Nell smiled, stroking him.

"Want to play now, Kitty?" Elena asked.

"Yeah!" Zoom purred, rubbing against her and Gabby.

"Let's go!" Gabby smiled. "We play with other baby kitties too!"

"Mingo and Estrella will love that," Queen Elena smiled. "Have fun, everybody!"

"You're being nice to the girls, Maddie," Nell noticed with a smile, kissing her cheek. "I'm proud of you."

"You are?" Madeline asked in surprise. "I try to be nice, but it's hard."

"I know, but you're making a really good effort," Nell smiled. "You've come a long way since the time you had to play with Elena for a week as punishment for being mean to her. You help with her feelings puzzle, you read to her and Gabby at bedtime when I'm busy with Ricky, and you try to help when she has a meltdown."

"Except for when I run to my room when she starts screaming," Madeline smiled weakly.

"But that's okay," Nell assured her, "I'm usually there when the screaming starts to get really bad, and I tell you that you don't have to stay if it bothers you."

"Thanks," Madeline giggled a little. "Whenever I read them a story, they always want voices!"

"Same with me," Bobby Lee smirked, musing her hair. "I'll be with Mother for the rest of the day."

"Mother and son day?" Nell guessed with a smile, kissing his cheek. "I think you've earned it."

"Well, someone has to keep Mother and Bianca safe on those wild flying kitties!" Bobby Lee grinned, scratching Zoom behind the ears.

"Miss Bianca will love Skylar!" Madeline grinned, petting Zoom.

"She'll like any of them," Nell smiled. "They were all pretty gentle with us, and Elena and Gabby."

"I think it's because they were little," Madeline grinned before pushing Bobby Lee out the door. "Go! Enjoy the kitties!"

"Are you trying to tell us something?" Bobby Lee joked, mussing her hair as they met up with Florence and Bianca.

"Hello, Robert! Are you and Bianca ready to ride a jaquin?" Florence smiled.

"Absolutely!" Bobby Lee grinned.

"This should be interesting," Bianca agreed, "Queen Elena was introducing me to the jaquins we're going to be riding, and they're all very nice."


	10. Chapter 10

Florence, Bobby Lee, Bianca, and Elena met up with Queen Elena in the castle courtyard. "I'm actually looking forward to this," Bianca admitted. "I've seen you flying with the children, and the jaquins are very gentle with them."

"And Gabby loved being on the jaquin, even more than the flying horse," Florence added, recalling how she and Nell had to watch Gabby following her day-long grounding following her ride on a flying horse. "I know James was a little worried about her at first, but you and Roland were with him, and helped calm him down."

"I don't think he'll ever forget Gabby's first ride on a flying horse," Bobby Lee murmured, recalling the daring mid-air rescue James had to do.

"Mommy can't neither," Elena recalled, smiling as she saw Skylar land on the ground and ran towards him. "Kitty!"

"Should I go get her?" Bobby Lee smirked, watching the interaction with Elena and Skylar

"No. She'll be fine," Queen Elena smiled, seeing Skylar nuzzling Elena.

"You want to come with us again, little _princessa?"_ Skylar asked.

"As long as someone holds onto her!" Florence grinned as she saw James coming up to them.

"Why don't I hold her?" James suggested. "I couldn't ride a jaquin before, since I was helping watch Ricky, but Nell said I earned this."

"You certainly did!" Bobby Lee grinned, mussing his hair.

"Kitty ride! Kitty ride!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Okay, Elena. Let's get you on the kitty," James smirked, musing her hair.

"He's so sweet to Elena Lydia," Bianca cooed, watching as James lifted Elena in his arms.

"He's more than made up for his attitude when Rex had to be sent away," Bobby Lee agreed. "He's always there to help us whenever we need someone to watch the girls or Ricky; whenever we need music for some event, he helps find it, and volunteers to play it..."

"You know that Sofia and Amber help with the girls too," Florence agreed, "But you're right. James tries to help us any way he can!"

"Can we ride them too?" Madeline asked, running into Bobby Lee's arms.

"Looks like I'll have to take two kitty rides," Bobby Lee smirked, mussing Madeline's hair.

"You love it as much as they do!" Florence smiled.

"When you put it that way...yes I do!" Bobby Lee grinned.

"I don't think Sabrina rode one either," Madeline spoke up, "She'd been worried about me earlier, and she wanted to help me."

"I'll get her," Bobby Lee assured her, "Don't go flying off without me!"

"I won't," Madeline promised, putting a hand on her chest.

Bobby Lee smirked, musing her hair. He knew that when Madeline promised something, she was bound to keep it.

He poked his head in Nell's room, where Sabrina was helping Nell put Ricky down for a nap. "Sabrina, do you want to go on a jaquin ride?"

"Can I?" Sabrina asked, looking up at Nell.

"Of course you can," Nell smiled. "You helped out so much with Ricky, and you helped Madeline earlier when she had that headache. You've earned this, so go have some fun!"

"Okay! Will you watch us, Nell?" Sabrina asked.

"From the window, since Ricky's sleeping," Nell smiled.

"Go out with her, Helen; I'll watch Richard," Luisa offered.

"Okay," Nell smiled, "Let's go!"

"Yay! Thank you, Miss Luisa!" Sabrina giggled, jumping up and down. "Thank you! Thank you too, Nell!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Nell chuckled, taking her hand.

"Let a sleeping Ricky lie," Bobby Lee cooed, musing Ricky's hair.

Ricky babbled a little bit before falling back asleep with one of Zoomer's paws in his mouth.

When they were outside again, Elena was waiting in James' arms, listening as he sang a kitty song to keep her calm.

Sabrina grinned as she mounted Luna with Nell behind her. "This is so incredible!" she smiled.

"It will be, but I hope Skylar can manage three people on a jaquin," Nell agreed, seeing Bianca sit behind James.

"He'll be fine," Bobby Lee assured her as he helped Florence and Madeline onto Migs and sat behind them.

"I hope you're not afraid of heights sweetheart," Luna muttered softly to Sabrina with a smile.

"No way! I'm good with heights!" Sabrina giggled, holding on to the female jaquin.

"Kitty fly now?" Elena asked, unable to contain her excitement any longer.

"That's right, Elena, kitties fly now!" Bobby Lee grinned as the jaquins took off.

Elena was excited about being on the kitties again, but she tried not to flap her hands. She looked up at James, and he tightened his grip around her waist.

"You're doing so well, Elena Lydia," Bianca murmured

"And so is Madeline," Florence grinned, kissing Madeline on the cheek.

Madeline kept her excitement low, so she wouldn't fall off, but the sight of Avalor and the being of the jaquin had her calm.

"This is amazing!" Sabrina screamed as Nell placed her hands around her waist.

"It certainly is," Nell smiled. "I bet you never imagined you'd be flying on a jaquin!"

"I never thought I'd be flying on anything like this!" Sabrina grinned. "I don't think I've even ridden the flying horses yet!"

"You haven't?" Bobby Lee echoed. "Why not?"

"Because I saw what happened to Gabby," Sabrina admitted. "I didn't want that to happen to me."

"Oh, baby girl, that won't happen with you," Nell murmured, "You're old enough to be on a flying horse, and if you want, we'll ride one with you when we get home."

"I'd like that," Sabrina smiled.

"Elena, are you enjoying the kitty ride?" Madeline asked with a smile.

"Yes. Now I wanna have Kitty be real," Elena smiled, imagining Kitty as a real jaquin.

"A real Kitty?" Bianca chuckled, musing her hair.

"We already discussed that, Love Bug," Bobby Lee smiled, "We agreed that Kitty should stay a toy, since our kitties would be sad if she had to stay here."

"That's right; jaquins are native to Avalor, not Enchancia," Florence added. "Don't you think Kitty might be lonely if she's the only real jaquin in Enchancia? There wouldn't be any other kitties for her to play with."

"A real jaquin might scare the animals in the stable," Bobby Lee agreed, "And Snow White and the barn kitties wouldn't like being scared of their friend."

"Elena, you can have her real in your drawings," Madeline suggested, seeing her niece pout. "I think Kitty will like that."

"Okay. But Mateo make Kitty real before we go home, Mommy?" Elena asked with a smile. "So I can say hi?"

"Again, sweetheart, that's not a good idea," Nell started, "Kitty might like being real so much that she escapes in the palace. I think Isabel told you how the baby jaquins got out and she had a hard time getting them back by herself."

Elena nodded. Even though the babies were really cute, they caused a lot of trouble. The last thing she wanted was for Kitty to cause trouble like they did. "Okay, Kitty won't cause trouble, cause she won't be real."

"Thank you, Nell," Madeline smirked, trying not to laugh. "I wouldn't want to chase Kitty around the palace."

"Me neither," Sabrina added, petting Luna's fur. "The only people I don't mind chasing love kitties and has a lookalike."

A few minutes later, they came back to the palace. Queen Elena, Sofia, and Amber were there to greet them. "How was your jaquin ride?" Queen Elena asked.

"I love flying kitties!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands excitedly.

"Take it easy, Love Bug," Bobby Lee grinned, "You flap your hands much harder, and you'll be flying again without the kitties!"

"Oh, Robert," Florence smirked.

"We love flying kitties too," Sofia smiled, and turned to Amber, who was standing beside her, "Amber, do you want to come with me? I think it's our turn to ride a jaquin now!"

"Okay!" Amber smiled back.

"Have fun, you two," Nell smiled, feeling Elena tug at her dress. "Yes, Love Bug?"

"I go play with Kitty and Pinky," Elena smiled, running back inside the castle.

"Hopefully she doesn't start playing with magic," Bianca mused, helping Madeline off Luna. "The last thing we need is a real Kitty and Pinky flying around."

"Why don't I keep an eye on her?" Madeline suggested. "I don't think she'll get into Mateo's magic stuff, but it can't hurt to watch her while she's playing with the kitties just the same."

"That's a very good idea," Bianca agreed. "I don't know if she knows where Mateo's workshop is, but I think it's a good idea to keep her away from there, just to be on the safe side."

"And Sofia did say it wasn't a good idea to get anyone in trouble for messing with magic stuff," Nell added.

"And I don't think Elena would be in the mood for time out," Bobby Lee smirked, taking Nell by the arm. "We have to check on Ricky anyways."

Madeline nodded, hoping that Elena was being a good girl as she peeked into Gabby's room and smiled a little as the little girl was practicing her exercises.

"Gabby, have you seen Elena?" Madeline asked, sitting her down. "I'm trying to make sure she doesn't go to Mr. Mateo's workshop and make her toys real."

"He have potion for that?" Gabby asked in surprise. "Like Mister Magic Man?"

"I'm not sure," Madeline frowned. "Elena got the idea in her head that Kitty should be real."

"But if Kitty real we can't take her home!" Gabby cried. "My book says jack wins live in Avalor! They can't come home with us!"

Madeline took Gabby in her arms as she started to cry. "I know. And you're absolutely right. But it's okay, Gabby. We're going to look for Elena right now. I know she'll have Kitty and Pinky with her."

"And she'll be talking a lot, right?" Gabby sniffed, feeling Madeline stroking her hair.

"Exactly," Madeline smiled, kissing her cheek. She took Gabby by the hand. "Now hopefully Mr. Mateo didn't leave the door to his workshop open because of his lesson with Olivia today."

"He has a up friend his too?" Gabby asked, knowing that Sofia was Cedric's apprentice back home.

"That's right, Gabby, but we're going to take a quick look in there, just to be on the safe side," Madeline smiled.

Madeline and Gabby went to Mateo's workshop, where they saw, to Madeline's relief, that the door was shut.

Meanwhile, Elena was in the kitchen with Francisco and Luisa, having a snack and telling them all about the kitty rides she'd taken.

"I remember our Elena's first time on a jaquin," Luisa smiled, "She was as excited as you were."

"Isabel and Esteban liked petting the jaquins at first," Francisco remembered, "But as they grew older, they enjoyed an occasional ride."

"Can-sue-her ride kitties too?" Elena asked.

"Oh yes," Luisa smiled, "And he was like you: once he started riding a jaquin, we couldn't get him off it!"

Elena giggled, flapping her hands looking around as she spotted Olivia and became shy.

"Don't worry. She won't bite," Mateo joked, musing Elena's hair. "But she is practicing the things becoming real spell, so I would recommend that Kitty doesn't join you for snacks."

"But Kitty likes snacks," Elena frowned, holding Kitty close. "She's my friend."

"I thought Gabby was your friend, Elena," Madeline smirked, not seeing where she was going and bumping into Olivia.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked.

"I'm fine now that I see Elena's all right," Madeline smiled. "And Elena, just so you don't get crumbs from your snack on Kitty or Pinky, or so they don't have anything magical spill on them by accident, I'll hold onto them."

Elena frowned at first when she learned that Kitty and Pinky couldn't be brought to life, but she didn't want anything to spill on them either, even if she was careful. "Okay. Maybe Kitty and Pinky can take nap naps since they had a snack and a story!"

"But you forgot what else they can have with a snack," Olivia grinned, sitting beside her.

"What?" Elena asked, thinking that Olivia's potion was a toy milk bottle for Kitty. "Oh! Kitties like milk! Snow White always does!"

"Elena, that's not milk!" Madeline yelled, seeing what Elena thought was pretend milk spill on Kitty.

"Be lucky we're not facing a water spirit," Mateo shuddered as Olivia looked down at her feet.

"Well, you wanted Kitty to be real," Madeline groaned as Kitty became a real baby jaquin.

"First, everyone shut any doors or windows!" Mateo took charge. "Do not let anyone in or out until Kitty's back to normal!"

"I'm sorry, Mateo," Olivia cried as she helped shut the doors and windows, trapping Kitty in the room.

"It's not your fault, Olivia; Elena took the potion," Mateo assured her.

Fortunately for everyone, Kitty was just looking around. She didn't even notice that she had wings.

Elena took Kitty in her arms, and Mateo came up with his reversal potion. "Can I hug Kitty before she's a toy again?" she asked.

Mateo couldn't help but smile at her innocent question. "Sure," he agreed, scratching Kitty behind her ears.

"I sorry, Kitty. You a good jack win, but a better toy," Elena smiled as she hugged Kitty.

Kitty purred, and Mateo poured the reversal potion on her. "We'll have to tell Nell and Bobby Lee about this," he added. "You were told not to make Kitty real, and you didn't listen."

"But Kitty my friend," Elena sniffed, looking away from Mateo.

"But why did you want her real?" Madeline asked, kneeling beside her. "And tell us everything. Not just because you wanted to."

"I wanna ride Kitty like Sofia rides her horsie," Elena muttered.

"You wanted something to ride on once in a while?" Madeline asked. "Elena, if that was something you wanted, you could have asked us to take you for a ride on a winged horse."

"I take Gabby on Kitty ride so she's not scared of her," Elena added.

"You wanted to help Gabby get over her fear of flying horses with a flying kitty?" Madeline suggested. "Elena, as nice an idea as that was, you have to let Gabby get over her fear one day at a time."

"Okay," Elena sighed, looking at Kitty's eyes. "I sorry, Kitty. I just wanted to be your friend like you're mine."

"Maybe we can have her be real for a little while," Mateo suggested, taking Elena in his lap. "But on one condition."

"What? What I do?" Elena asked, holding Kitty close.

"Nell and Bobby Lee are going to with us when it happens," Mateo replied. "And I'm the one who brings her to life, and turns her back afterwards."

"That's a good idea," Madeline agreed.

"Okay," Elena nodded.

When Nell and Bobby Lee heard about what happened, they were angry at first, that Elena had put a potion on Kitty, even if she thought it was something else. However, they understood why she'd done what she did. They told her that they agreed with Madeline, to let Gabby get over her fears on her own, and that after Kitty was a toy again, she wouldn't be accessible until bedtime, and Elena would be in timeout.

Elena accepted her punishment without complaining, since she was unable to contain her excitement at the thought of Kitty becoming real again.

She stood and watched as Mateo poured the potion on her best friend before Kitty looked around and opened her wings.

"Mommy?" Kitty asked, looking around for her supposed mommy.

"Kitty!" Elena giggled. "You real again!"

"I love Mommy!" Kitty purred, nuzzling her.

"I love Kitty too," Elena smiled, flapping her hands.

Elena let everyone pet Kitty, and even let Gabby hold her before Mateo poured the reversal potion on her.

"Okay, now let's go to your separate timeouts, Elena," Nell said as she took Kitty from her.

"Okay," Elena sighed. "Kitty have kitty party with her friends?"

"I'm sure she will," Nell smiled, "They'll love hearing about how she came to life. But they can't do the same."

"And little ones can't bring them to life," Bobby Lee muttered, taking Elena in his arms. "Maybe Queen Elena can make that a rule."

"But wouldn't everyone like a real Kitty to be friends with?" Elena asked with a giggle.

"No honey," Bobby Lee sighed, hearing Ricky wake up from his nap.

"I'll get him," Nell started.

"No, you and Bobby Lee take care of Elena," Madeline corrected her, "I'll take care of Ricky. But before I forget, you'd better take Pinky too. Even though she didn't have Mateo's potion spill on her either time, I'm guessing that she's not accessible until bedtime for Elena either?"

"You guess right," Nell smirked as she took Pinky.

Though Madeline hated for Elena to be punished, it had to happen as she went to Ricky's nursery.

Ricky babbled happily upon seeing her as Madeline took him in her arms.

"I hope you don't get Elena's imagination," Madeline said, stroking his hair. "I don't think Zoomer would enjoy being real."

Ricky squealed and held his little black and gray friend out to her.

"Well, since you put it that way," Madeline smiled, taking Zoomer and flying him around, "Zoom-zoom-zoom! Zoomer goes zoom-zoom!" She looked up when she saw the blue blur zip by the room. "And Zoom goes zoom-zoom too!"

Ricky giggled as he heard his favorite song, and he squealed happily as Zoom nuzzled him.

"He's saying hello!" Madeline giggled, gently petting the baby jaquin behind the ears.

Ricky giggled, dropping Zoomer to the ground as he reached out for Zoom. He hugged the baby jaquin to the best of his ability, babbling excitedly.

Madeline picked Zoomer up and set him next to Greenie. "There you go," she murmured, even though she knew they couldn't reply, "Don't turn real on us like your sister did!"

Ricky didn't know what she was talking about, but he didn't care, since he was too busy petting the baby kitty who was sniffing him.


	11. Chapter 11

Madeline carefully watched as Zoom sniffed her baby cousin who cooed, gently petting the baby jaquin.

It wasn't that Zoom was bad, it was just because she was wary of an animal attack, as it seemed to always be her family that always got bit by an animal of some sort.

And Ricky was a baby, so she didn't want anything to happen to him.

However, she didn't have anything to worry about. She saw how gentle Zoom was around Ricky. He babbled a little bit, then he let Zoom go.

"I think he just said 'good afternoon', Zoom," Madeline smiled.

"We'll guard him together," Zoom purred, nuzzling her.

Madeline giggled as Estrella and Mingo came in. "Are you two going to guard Ricky too?" she asked, stroking them.

"Let's play!" Mingo purred, nuzzling Ricky.

"He can't walk yet," Madeline explained, having the baby jaquin frown in disappointment. "But he can sit up!"

Ricky cooed, sitting up to catch one of the baby jaquins in his arms.

Nell came in just in time to see Ricky hugging Estrella. "Did you find a new kitty friend, Ricky?"

Ricky giggled and clapped his hands, at the same time letting Estrella fly away and perch on Nell's shoulder.

"Well, hello, Estrella," Nell smiled, carefully reaching up and stroking her.

"How's Elena?" Madeline asked.

"She's all right," Nell smiled. "She understood that what she did was wrong, and she promised not to use potions anymore. She did her timeout without any trouble."

"And Kitty?" Madeline grinned, hearing Ricky clap his hand happily.

"Still in time out," Nell mused, messing up Madeline's hair before reaching down to put up Ricky. "Come on, little guy, let's get you into something a little nicer."

"Why?" Madeline asked in confusion. "Is it important?"

"Well, I heard from Queen Elena that we're invited to the Feast of Friendship tonight," Nell grinned. "We'll get to meet new people, and learn some new things about them. They also heard that children are attending, and that means you'll all get some souvenirs from their countries."

"That sounds like fun," Madeline admitted. "I remember at school Sabrina and I learned about some of the countries in our history classes. Sabrina really seemed interested in Satu, but I remember I did a report on Cordoba."

"And what about Norberg?" Nell asked.

"We both liked learning about that kingdom," Madeline smiled, "The teacher played some music from Norberg, and taught us a dance!"

"Well, Naomi will be happy to hear about that," Nell grinned. "You'll have to do the dance and surprise her!"

"We should," Madeline agreed, smiling as she watched Nell place Ricky on his changing table. "Can I pick my cousins' outfits for tonight?"

"Who are you and what did you do with Madeline?" Nell joked, gently laying Ricky down and hoping that he wouldn't move. "But yes you can. Just be sure to watch Ricky when you dress him up."

"So he doesn't roll away?" Madeline smirked, seeing Ricky look up at her.

"Yes, but I know you'll be careful," Nell smiled. "And I'll be watching him too, so just in case you need to get something else for him, I'll help keep him safe."

"We trust you, Ricky!" Madeline smiled. "But we just want you safe."

Ricky babbled happily, spotting Nell's wedding ring and reached out for it.

"No, no. Mommy has to change you," Madeline said, gently stroking his hair. "You can't stay in your pajamas all day! That won't be fun for the party!"

"Party?" Zoom asked, nuzzling against Madeline.

"I'm not sure if baby jaquins are invited either, Zoom, but we can ask Queen Elena," Madeline smiled.

"Jaquins are the life of the party," Nell joked. "But maybe for now they should stay and help us take care of Ricky."

Once Ricky was out of his pajamas and given a teething cracker to snack on, Madeline gently carried him to Elena's room, frowning as she saw Elena still sitting on her time-out stool.

"Are you thinking about something?" Madeline asked softly as Ricky reached out to hug his big sister.

"I didn't mean to be a bad girl and bring Kitty to life," Elena sighed.

"We know," Madeline murmured. "But I can understand why you did it. I would have done the same thing if I saw a potion that cool! But I know you also thought it was a bottle of milk like the ones you feed your dollies with at home."

Elena nodded softly, feeling Ricky play with her hair. "Ricky like me!" she giggled, flapping her hands.

"All younger siblings have to like their older siblings," Madeline smirked, sitting Ricky down.

"Ricky does look up to you," Nell smiled, "And not because you're short!" She added that part, remembering the joke James used when Elena or Gabby said they looked up to him.

"I good girl?" Elena asked.

"Mostly good," Nell smirked. "I think you learned your lesson, and when you apologize to Mateo, everything will be all right again. Although he knew why you did what you did."

"Okay," Elena agreed. "Kitty and Pinky come back at night-night time?"

"That's the plan, Love Bug," Nell smiled.

"Can I say sorry to Mateo now?" Elena asked, jumping up from her time-out stool.

"Well you've been in the corner long enough," Madeline smirked, looking down at Ricky. "What do you think, Ricky? Can your big sister get out of her corner so she can say sorry to Mr. Mateo?"

Ricky giggled and reached out for his big sister.

"I think Ricky agrees, and so do I," Nell smiled.

"Now I know that you feel a little scared, Love Bug, but you know that Mateo isn't mad at you. Don't you?"

"Yes I do, Mommy, but can Auntie Madeline and Ricky come with me?" Elena asked, taking Madeline's hand.

"Of course they can. If you need me, I'll be with Gabby," Nell smiled, kissing her cheek.

Madeline took Ricky and Elena to Mateo's workshop, where they waited until he looked up from his cleaning. "Mr. Mateo?" Madeline called.

"Come on in," Mateo smiled, waving them in.

"I sorry about Kitty and your potion," Elena murmured.

"Elena, it's all right," Mateo assured her. "You apologized when it first happened, and Olivia and I forgave you. Then you got to see your little friend come to life again for a minute before I turned her back. And that time, we wanted to see it happen."

"I won't do that no more," Elena promised.

"Well, we all learned a lesson from that," Mateo smiled, patting her head. "And is Kitty telling her friends about what happened?"

"Yeah! But they don't want to come to life," Elena giggled.

"I'm glad to hear it," Mateo grinned, mussing her hair. "Magic isn't a toy. You could've gotten seriously hurt."

"I know. I sorry again," Elena muttered, looking at the floor.

"Mr. Mateo, what do you mean? Sofia does magic and so do Amber and James. They're older than me and they haven't gotten hurt by magic," Madeline recalled with a frown. "Are you saying that I can get hurt? Or Ricky?"

"Well, Sofia, James, and Amber take special classes at their school that deal with magic, and you three don't," Mateo reasoned. "Sofia's also an apprentice to her Royal Sorcerer Cedric, so she knows more about magic than you. And of course, there are also the potion ingredients you have to handle in classes like that. Some can hurt you, or they can make you sick."

"Like Pelicant Eggshell Powder?" Madeline asked, "Nell and Bobby Lee told me and Sabrina that James has trouble with that, and he gets sick if he breathes it in or handles it. He even has to ask if a potion has it before he uses it."

"I wouldn't know; I've never heard of or used that ingredient myself, and neither did my grandfather," Mateo admitted. "Is that a common potion ingredient in Enchancia?"

"I think so," Madeline admitted. "Mister Cedric has a bottle of it with his other potion ingredients, and I remember that it spilled on James once when Elena and Gabby bumped into him, and he was sick for a few days."

"We no mean it!" Elena cried as Ricky cooed, looking at the potions that he could see.

"Ricky, that's not a bottle!" Madeline scolded, seeing her youngest cousin stare at the potions.

"He's probably curious about them," Mateo smirked, musing Ricky's hair playfully.

Ricky squealed, grabbing a nearby potion with his hands, accidentally spilling a few drops on himself.

"Ricky okay?" Elena asked in worry for her little brother, nearly ready to start crying.

Mateo looked at the potion bottle. "He'll be fine," he assured her. "This potion won't hurt him."

"What is it?" Madeline asked.

"Is it bad?" Elena asked, glancing at Ricky with a sniff.

"You sure it won't hurt him?" Madeline asked, gently stroking Ricky's hair.

To answer her question, Ricky started giggling at her touch.

"He'll be fine," Mateo grinned. "It was just a potion to induce laughter that I wanted to slip to Esteban as a joke. It'll wear off in a minute, since he only got a few drops splashed on him."

"You were going to use it on Mister Esteban?" Madeline asked.

"He's so serious all the time," Mateo smirked. "Would it kill him to laugh once in a while?"

"Does Queen Elena know about this?" Madeline asked.

"Of course! She was the one who suggested making it," Mateo grinned as Ricky calmed down.

"Queen Elena good!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Elena, you can't do that tonight," Madeline explained as Ricky cooed in confusion.

He loved it whenever his big sister flapped her hands like a bird. He couldn't understand why she couldn't do it.

"Why not?" Mateo asked.

"We know why she does it, but Nell says there'll be strangers here who don't know why Elena does that, and they may say something," Madeline explained.

Mateo nodded in agreement. He knew about Elena's autism, and some of the things she did. "Don't worry, Elena, you can flap as much as you want here, but not around my potions," he said as he moved some bottles away from her. "But now, let's go get you ready for tonight."

"I'll be the one doing that," Madeline smiled, hearing Ricky yawn. "After Ricky's nap."

"Ricky nap nap already?" Elena frowned, looking confused.

"One of the side effects from that potion is that the person will be a little sleepy for a while, but don't worry," Mateo assured her. "Ricky can take a nap, and he'll wake up feeling like a million gold coins."

Mateo led them back to their rooms. On the way they ran into Nell and Bobby Lee, who surprisingly weren't angry about the potion when they learned what happened, but rather they were amused at what it did.

"I'm just glad Ricky's all right, and the potion was harmless," Nell smiled as she took Ricky.

"It's going to be part of my entertainment tonight," Mateo explained.

"I can't wait to see Mr. Esteban drink that," Bobby Lee smirked.

"But of course, I won't give him too much," Mateo assured him, "I still want him to be able to make a good impression on our visitors."

"Yes. This is true," Nell smirked, mimicking Estéban's voice.

"Again! Again!" Elena giggled, clapping her hands.

"I'll do some more for you later, Love Bug," Nell grinned. "We don't want him to hear me teasing him."

"This is true, I mean, good idea," Bobby Lee agreed, doing his own imitation of the Chancellor.

Elena smiled in agreement, taking Madeline's hand as she watched her parents walk off with her sleeping little brother.

"Elena, what color do you want for tonight?" Madeline asked, seeing her look confused.

"Why?" Elena wanted to know.

"I'm just asking because during your timeout, Isabel made all of us new outfits with the Presto Changer again, and we're going to wear them tonight," Madeline smiled. "We thought you'd like a new outfit too."

"Yeah!" Elena cheered. "What color your dress?"

"Well, I've got a red one, Gabby's is purple, Amber's is blue and silver, Nell's is green-" Madeline started before Elena gasped.

"Mommy has a dress like the mean lady?" she cried.

"No, it's similar to the one Amber had made before," Madeline smiled, "I was going to say Nell's is green and ivory, Sofia's is pink, Sabrina's is violet, Miss Bianca has a gold and burgundy dress, Miranda has a red and gold dress, and Miss Florence's is yellow."

"I get new dress too!" Elena giggled.

"That's right," Madeline grinned as she led her to Isabel's room, "Just tell Isa the color dress you want, and you'll get it!"

"Okay!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Good girl," Madeline smirked, mussing her hair.

"What color is Daddy, King, and Ricky's dress?" Elena asked, looking at Madeline who tried not to laugh.

"Well, Roland got a red and gold suit, Bobby Lee's suit is blue and gold, and Ricky's is green and gold," Madeline smiled. "James also got one that's silver and burgundy."

She knocked on Isabel's door, and when she invited them in, Elena asked, "Can I make new dress too?"

Isabel grinned. "Sure, Elena. What color do you want?"

"Like Elena's but pink!" Elena shouted.

"A pink version of Elena's red dress?" Isabel repeated as Elena took her spot in front of the Presto Changer. "No problem!"

Madeline smiled softly at Isabel, thankful that she had remembered about the new dresses for Elena wouldn't have been thrilled to be left out.

Elena giggled as she stepped inside one of Isabel's prized inventions, waiting patiently for her new dress.

She emerged a few moments later, just as Nell, Florence, and Bianca came up to them. "I said it before, and I have to say it again: Elena Lydia, that's beautiful!" Bianca smiled.

"It's Queen Elena's dress in pink!" Madeline grinned. "But how's Ricky?"

"He's fine," Nell smiled. "Like Mateo said, the potion didn't hurt him, and he slept for a few minutes before waking up feeling like his old self again."

"And his daddy is trying to teach him to guard," Florence smirked, mussing Elena's hair. "You ready for tonight, sweetheart?"

"Yes, Grand Mommy!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"But will you be a good girl?" Nell mused, kissing her cheek.

"I'll be a very good girl," Elena promised, quickly putting her hands at her sides. "I not flap my hands and I not touch potions."

"Good idea, Love Bug," Nell grinned. "That way you won't get teased. But you understand that we ask you not to flap to discourage you, don't you?"

"No, Mommy," Elena smiled, jumping up and down. "Where Gabby? And Auntie Sabrina?"

"Last time I saw them, they were taking a walk with Amber," Nell replied, "They wanted to know about some of the pictures around the palace, and Armando and Esteban were telling them about them."

"Before you find them, do any of you want to try controlling the Presto Changer?" Isabel asked. "I still need to get my dress, but I need someone to pedal the machine."

"Me! I pedal!" Elena shouted.

"Okay, Elena, but I think you might need someone to help you reach the pedals," Isabel agreed. "I've already programmed the Presto Changer to the design I want, but I can't be in two places at once."

"Can I help you, Elena?" Madeline asked.

"Yeah!" Elena shouted as Isabel took her place in front of the Presto Changer.

"Maybe when you're bigger, you'll reach the pedals," Nell smiled, mussing Elena's hair as she watched Madeline move the pedals.

The only one who had a bike back home was James, but Elena was happy that he would share his bike with all of them.

When Isabel came out of the Presto Changer, she was wearing a turquoise and silver dress. "Nice job, you two! Thanks for helping me!"

"Isa pretty!" Elena smiled.

"Yes she is," Luisa smiled as she poked her head in the doorway. "Isabel, that's one of the prettiest dresses I've ever seen!"

"Do you want to try it, Ms. Luisa?" Nell asked.

"Thank you, Helen, but I've got my own dress for the festival," Luisa smiled.

"Mr. Francisco gets a dress too?" Elena asked with a smile.

"No, honey. He gets a suit," Luisa smiled, mussing her hair.

"Sorry about that. Elena gets confused about boys wearing suits," Nell confessed, starting to blush.

"Don't worry, _mija_ ," Luisa smiled, "But Francisco and Esteban have their suits picked out for tonight. We'll be all set to meet the visitors and have some fun at the Feast of Friendship!"

"Are you going to need help with any food preparations?" Nell asked.

"No, everything's all set," Luisa assured her.

Elena held Ricky in her arms as he held Zoomer in his arms. She knew that she had to be patient with waiting for the guests to arrive.

Yet she didn't want to make eye contact with them. Gabby seemed to notice the look on her sister's face, taking Ricky in her arms and played with his hair.

"You okay, Elena?" Gabby asked.

"I guess so," Elena muttered. "I no flap in front of anyone."

"It'll be all right, Elena," James assured her as he came up to them. "Just stay close to me and everything'll be fine."

"You think so?" Elena asked.

"Why not?" James asked, then he brightened as he got an idea. "But while we're waiting, would you and Gabby like to help me make up an adventure that Andrew Harmon can go on?"

"He ride a kitty?" Elena asked.

"He and his friends Miss Lydia and Miss Anna will love riding kitties as they help their friends," James grinned. "And tonight, Kitty and Pinky can help us, Zebra, and Lily write the story too."

Ricky held up Zoomer, causing Elena and Gabby to giggle.

"Okay Ricky, Zoomer can be in it too," James grinned, mussing his hair, "And so can Greenie."

"But Mr. Edward is a little too young to join you three," Nell smirked, taking Ricky in her arms.

"There's nothing wrong with an honorable mention in the stories," James grinned. "I've done that with some of my friends a few times, and they get a kick out of seeing their middle names in print!"

"Good point," Nell grinned back.

"And when you get this story written, can I have a copy of it?" Queen Elena asked. "I might even supply a list of middle names for you."

"Brilliant!" James grinned. "And yes, you can have a copy of it!"

"People here?" Elena asked shyly, turning away.

"Some, but not all of them," Queen Elena assured, taking her hand. "Would you like to meet them? You might get a gift."

Elena smiled as Gabby joined her, looking at Queen Elena with wide eyes.

"Oh no. You said their favorite word!" Nell groaned playfully as Ricky cooed softly.

"I be good!" Elena promised.

"We know you will, sweetheart," Queen Elena smiled.


	12. Chapter 12

Elena and Gabby held Zoomer and Greenie up for Ricky, who giggled, clapping his hands.

They only hoped that he wouldn't need a diaper change while the grown-ups discussed the festival of friendship that would start happening within an hour.

Not that they hadn't enjoyed helping him with his nightmare the night before, but Elena just couldn't help but feel sick whenever she thought of having to change her baby brother again.

"You okay?" Gabby asked, seeing Elena lost in thought.

"No more changing diapers," Elena shuddered.

"Nell told us all about that," Amber smiled. "She was really proud of both of you for helping Ricky like that. And she said she'd give Kitty and Pinky back early. She said she put them on Elena's bed when you went to go wash your hands."

"Kitty and Pinky help with Andrew story!" Elena cheered.

"All of you are going to help James write a new Andrew Harmon story?" Amber repeated. "I can't wait to read it!"

"Thank you!" Gabby giggled, jumping up and down.

"No Ricky, you no help," Elena added, having Ricky coo in confusion.

"Why can't he?" Amber asked playfully. "Did he make you mad?"

"He went pee-pee on me!" Elena pouted.

"He did that with me too, and I survived," Bobby Lee smiled as he heard her. "We're proud of you and Gabby for helping Ricky the way you did. And besides, Ricky might have his own ideas for how this new story goes."

Hearing his name again, Ricky squealed and waved Zoomer around.

"Why don't you let him help?" Queen Elena suggested, having Elena turn around. "Ricky can't be _that_ bad."

"I don't know," Elena muttered, seeing Ricky roll towards her.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to do that, Love Bug," Bobby Lee smiled. "Can't you forgive him?"

Nell picked Ricky up and held him in front of her face, doing the 'Ms. Napkin Head' routine she and Bobby Lee used to do. "I'm sorry, Elena! I love you and I won't do it again!"

Elena giggled as Nell put Ricky down. "Okay. I love you, Ricky! You good baby!"

"See? Sometimes you have to hug and make up," Queen Elena grinned.

"Party yet?" Gabby asked, jumping up and down again.

"Well, someone's excited about the Festival of Friendship," Queen Elena grinned, taking her and Elena by the hands and dancing around with them.

"We all are," Sofia smiled. "It's going to be really fun learning about the different kingdoms and seeing what they're like."

"And Sabrina and Madeline are planning a dance to surprise your friend Naomi," Nell grinned.

"Are they now?" Queen Elena asked with a smirk. "Well I won't spoil the surprise."

"She'll love it," Nell smiled. "We'll even ask James and Francisco to accompany them!"

"Abuelo does love playing his guitar," Queen Elena grinned.

"And James does love singing and playing the piano," Amber smiled.

"But has James ever seen music like that?" Queen Elena asked.

"Don't worry about that," Amber smiled, "James has our birth mother's ear for music, and he can play anything after hearing it once!"

"He certainly was a hit at the tea party," Nell grinned.

Ricky clapped his hands at the mention of a party as Elena picked him up before sitting him down with her and Gabby's kitties.

"We gotta be pay-sent for the party," Elena explained with a smile.

"Being patient's always a good idea," Nell smiled. "It won't be too much longer."

A few minutes later, Queen Elena led them into the ballroom. "Welcome to our Festival of Friendship," she smiled as she pointed out the visitors. "May I present Prince Soji of Satu, Prince Alonso of Cordoba, and Ambassador Nathaniel of Norberg. Prince Soji, Prince Alonso, Ambassador Nathaniel, may I present the royal family of Enchancia, and their friends."

"It's very nice to meet all of you," Roland smiled as they all shook hands.

Elena and Gabby hid behind Bobby Lee, who locked eyes with Prince Alonso as he kissed Nell's hand.

"He's just being polite," Florence assured her son, noticing his look of jealousy.

"That's flirting, not being polite," Bobby Lee grumbled, stroking Ricky's hair in order to calm himself.

"It's very nice to meet you," Prince Alonso smiled at Bobby Lee, and extended a hand toward him.

Bobby Lee shook it, and he managed to smile, even if it was a little stiff.

"And it's nice to meet your daughters," Prince Alonso smiled at Elena and Gabby. "I hear you named your oldest girl after Queen Elena. She taught me a lot when she first visited Cordoba, and I managed to shape up because of her."

"Well good for you," Bobby Lee mumbled under his breath.

"It nice to meet you too, Mr. Alonso," Elena smiled, giving him a small curtsy.

"But Daddy doesn't look happy," Gabby added, shaking Prince Alonso's hand.

"It's all right, Gabby; he's just being protective," Florence assured her, "You know how your mommy sometimes gets around strangers, and your daddy's just watching out for her."

Bobby Lee's eyes grew sad. He recalled how Jimmy had tried to flirt with Nell before he kidnapped her, and he didn't want that to happen again, and that was why he was being so suspicious of Prince Alonso.

Florence caught his eye and squeezed his hand, murmuring, "It's all right, Robert, but he was just trying to be friendly. And isn't that what tonight is all about: friendship and being friends?"

"You're right, Mother," Bobby Lee agreed. He turned to Prince Alonso. "I'm sorry, your Highness."

"Queen Elena has told us about what happened, so it's alright if you were suspicious of me," Prince Alonso grinned, kissing Nell's hand again. "And I know Helen is your wife. She's attractive, yes, but I know better than to harm someone who's been through so much."

Nell smiled. "Thank you, your Highness, for understanding. And don't mind Robert; he's always been protective of me and my sisters since we were rescued."

"I heard that he's a guard at Enchancia Castle," Prince Alonso smiled. "He certainly does a good job of protecting people."

"He really does," Florence grinned, musing her son's hair.

"I'm sure you haven't meet our son Ricky," Nell smiled, taking Ricky in her arms. "He's gonna grow up to be just like his daddy."

"He's a cute little guy," Prince Alonso smiled. "He'll take after his daddy, that's for sure."

Nathaniel and Prince Soji also came over to congratulate Nell and Bobby Lee about Ricky. They had seen them at Queen Elena's coronation, but they hadn't had time to talk to them very much.

"Why you playing 'pass the baby', Mommy?" Elena asked, getting a little confused.

"Can't your brother make friends with everyone Love Bug?" Nell asked, musing her hair.

"No! Mine!" Elena yelled. "My Ricky! Mine!"

"Elena, would you like to go to timeout again after you just got Kitty and Pinky back?" Nell murmured. "If we have to take them away one more time, you won't get them back until we go home."

"I be good!" Elena blurted out, hiding behind James. "James make Andrew story with Kitty and Pinky! Everybody makes friends with Ricky!"

"Andrew story?" Prince Alonso asked.

"Andrew Harmon is a spy character I made up," James explained, then he told Prince Alonso about some of his adventures, and how he was planning to make an Andrew Harmon story where he went to Avalor.

"That sounds like fun," Prince Alonso smiled.

"It is fun," Gabby smiled, but was still a little shy.

"And I'm sorry about Elena. She normally loves to share," Nell muttered, taking Elena by the hand.

"But not her brother?" Nathaniel asked, mussing Elena's hair.

"Giant!" Elena gasped, hiding behind Nell.

"There's no giant here; just some giant decorations that won't hurt you," Sofia smiled.

"Okay. I share Ricky with everyone too!" Elena promised. "I be good girl!"

"That's all I'm asking, but what I say stands," Nell murmured.

"Yes Mommy," Elena sighed.

"Hey! It's not time to be upset Love Bug!" Bobby Lee chuckled, tossing her up in the air. He caught her as he added softly, "We trust you to be a good girl, sweetheart, but you do want to make a good impression on these visitors."

"What's that?" Elena asked.

"You want to show them that you can be nice to them, and to everyone. They might come visit you, and this is how you can practice being a good girl," Bobby Lee explained.

"Okay Daddy," Elena smiled.

"You're a captain?" Gabby asked, looking up at Ambassador Nathaniel in surprise. "Where's your pirate stuff?"

"Not that kind of captain, Gabby," Madeline smirked.

"Norberg is a kingdom with a rich history of naval traditions," Ambassador Nathaniel explained. "Several people have jobs on the water, such as fishing, piloting boats, or traveling to overseas kingdoms to do business with them."

That got Gabby's interest as unlike her twin, she was ready for an adventure no matter how small.

"I see you're a little adventurous, aren't you?" Ambassador Nathaniel asked, mussing her hair.

"She and Naomi would get along," Queen Elena smiled, taking Gabby by the hand.

"We learned about your kingdoms in school, and we really liked learning about Norberg," Sabrina smiled at Ambassador Nathaniel. "Our teacher even taught us a dance from there."

"Really?" Ambassador Nathaniel smiled. "Would it be all right if you showed me?"

"I think Naomi would like to see it too," Queen Elena smiled, motioning her over.

At the same time, James had found the song Madeline had told him about, and Francisco got out his guitar. "Ready, Mister Francisco?" James asked as he sat down at the piano.

"I'm always ready to play music, Prince James!" Francisco smiled as they started playing.

Naomi grinned when she saw Madeline and Sabrina dancing. "I love that dance!"

"Surprise!" Madeline and Sabrina smiled as they pulled her into the dance too.

"Mommy and Daddy dance too!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down.

"We haven't learned this dance," Bobby Lee mused, patting her head.

"But it doesn't mean we can't dance with you," Nell smiled as Ricky cooed happily. "I can dance with my little man."

"How can Ricky dance?" Gabby asked in confusion. "He can't walk!"

"That's okay, Gab-Gab," Bobby Lee smiled, "He can dance like this!" He scooped Gabby up and spun her around.

"Me next please!" Elena smiled.

"Okay, since you asked so nicely," Bobby Lee smiled, switching partners.

"And you're so polite," Nell smiled, taking Ricky up. "Come on, Ricky! Let's show them how it's done!" She spun him around, making Ricky squeal happily.

"Isn't that adorable?" Sofia asked.

"I've never heard Ricky be that happy," Amber admitted, hearing Ricky giggle.

"That's because he's with his favorite person," Miranda smiled, taking Sofia by the hand. "Sofia would you like to dance?"

Sofia nodded and joined in the dance too. She smiled at the song James and Francisco were playing. She should have remembered that James could play anything he heard by ear and he knew music.

At the same time, Mateo was mixing his potions. He knew which goblet Esteban always drank from, and poured a few drops of his laughter-inducing potion into it.

Queen Elena grinned and nodded when she saw what he was doing. "Good move, Mateo! I'll take it over to him," she whispered.

"And at least it is temporary, and it won't hurt him," Mateo whispered back as Queen Elena took the goblet to Esteban.

Ricky squealed, seeing the goblet in Queen Elena's hand before Nell gave him a bottle, seeing that he hadn't gotten anything to drink before the party.

"I help you Mommy," Elena offered, holding Ricky's bottle still. "I wanna be good girl."

"You are a good girl, Elena, and I appreciate you wanting to help me," Nell smiled.

Meanwhile, Queen Elena brought Esteban his goblet. "I thought you might be getting thirsty with all your talks, cousin," she smiled, holding it out to him.

"Thank you, Elena, I certainly needed this," Esteban smiled as he took it.

"Mr. Mateo did it!" Madeline gasped, putting a hand to her lips. "He actually did it!"

She had never heard Estéban laugh before as did none of the children except Isabel, watching as Gabby looked around in confusion.

"Even the serious of men need a laugh every once in a while," Bobby Lee smirked, enjoying what was going on.

"I wonder what's so funny?" Roland mused, looking over at Esteban, who was laughing as he tried to talk to Prince Soji.

"Cousin, what have you been drinking?" Queen Elena smirked.

Estéban couldn't answer, unable to control his laughter as Ricky had spit out his bottle, giggling with the older man.

"Babies and laughter are contiguous," Mateo ginned.

"Ricky sick?" Elena frowned.

"No, sweetheart, but sometimes when one person starts laughing, others join in," Queen Elena smiled. "Ricky's just fine."

Elena smiled as she kissed Ricky's forehead. "You good baby, Ricky!"

Ricky giggled again, clapping his hands as Estéban continued to laugh, much to the shock of everyone.

Except Queen Elena and Mateo who were holding back smirks.

"Esteban, what's gotten into you?" Francisco asked.

"I don't know, but this seems like a brilliant mystery for Andrew Harmon and his friends to solve!" James whispered, grinning himself.

"Can we help solve it?" Naomi asked, "I love mysteries myself!"

"Kitty helps too!" Elena cheered.

"Of course Kitty helps too," James smiled, "I'm putting all our kitty friends in the story, remember?"

"Yeah!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down excitedly. "Ricky helps too!"

"Oh no! He's a little young Love Bug," Nell smirked, kissing her cheek.

"But friends help too right?" Gabby wondered. "Don't they?"

"Of course they do! Like I said, we'll give Mr. Edward an honorable mention in the story," James smiled, mussing Ricky's hair.

"Didn't Ms. Luisa say she gave you a list of everyone's names?" Sofia asked.

"Yes, and now we've got our cast of characters," James grinned.


	13. Chapter 13

"What do we do first?" Elena asked. She vaguely remembered the treasure hunt that Mister Magic Man had sent them on back home. He had taken Kitty, as well as a few other favorite items of her friends and family.

"Let's look for clues," James suggested, knowing what she was thinking about. "You know, anything that looks out of place. We should also look at the goblet Esteban was drinking from. We'll take it to Mateo or Cedric and see if there's any kind of potion in it that Esteban might have drunk. Even if it was by accident, we still need to make sure."

"Okay! Kitty and Pinky can't drink it!" Elena agreed, remembering what had happened the last time she used a potion on Kitty.

"Kitty and Pinky are in your room anyway, so they can't drink it," James smiled.

"You no fun!" Elena pouted.

"I am so fun," James smirked, mussing her hair.

"Yeah," Bobby Lee grinned, mussing James' hair, "Like a mushroom, James is a fun guy!"

"Look now?" Gabby asked, going ahead.

"Hopefully his goblet is empty before Gabby drinks it," Bobby Lee mused with a smile. "We wouldn't want her to get a case of the giggles."

"Mr. Esteban, do you think I could take a look at your goblet?" James asked. "I've got a feeling that someone slipped you a potion of some kind."

"Go ahead, Prince James," Esteban chuckled, "I just want to sit down for a moment. And I do apologize if I caused a scene."

"No apologies needed, Chancellor," Prince Soji smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen anything so entertaining. And everyone needs to laugh occasionally."

At the same time, James reached the goblet before Gabby could pick it up. "Hold on, Gabby; let's check this out first before you swallow something you shouldn't."

"You don't want time out," Elena assured her pouting twin. "That's bad."

"But it looks yummy," Gabby sighed. "Can I have a little bit?"

"After James plays with it first," Elena said, pulling Gabby into a hug.

"Look at this! Our first clue," James said as he picked up a small vial.

"It looks like one of Mr. Mateo's vials," Madeline mused. "Elena, Ricky, and I were in his workshop earlier and she apologized for using that potion when her timeout was finished."

"Yeah!" Elena agreed, turning toward James and flapping her hands. "Ricky got something splashed on him and he laughed too!"

"You mean the potion for laughter?" Madeline corrected with a smile.

"Yes," Elena smiled, looking at the potion.

"I've seen something like this before," Mateo decided to play along to throw suspicion off himself. He took a handkerchief and dabbed it into the liquid, which turned the fabric purple, "This looks really similar to a potion my grandfather made a long time ago. He said the effects are temporary, and the person who drinks it will be fine."

"That's good to know," Queen Elena played along too.

"But you said that you wanted to have Mateo make the thingy for can-sue-her!" Elena frowned.

"Elena, maybe she did say that but maybe she wanted the party to be fun," Madeline smiled, mussing her hair. "After all, grown up parties do get a little boring sometimes."

"Yeah!" Elena whispered, giggling.

"Elena, is this true?" Luisa tried to look stern, but after seeing Esteban laughing like that, she couldn't help but smile. "Did you slip Esteban that potion?"

"Maybe..." Queen Elena grinned, then she turned to Esteban. "I'm sorry, cousin. It was all for fun."

"And Mateo was in on it?" Luisa continued.

"Maybe..." Mateo grinned. "But it was all Elena's idea!"

Luisa tried to look stern. "I should be furious at both of you for disrupting the Feast of Friendship like that!" But she grinned. "But I have to admit, that was a charming little mystery!"

"And I can put my own spin on this little prank and make it a real mystery!" James added.

Though Gabby liked mysteries, especially when James did them, she shook her head, reaching up for the potion.

"We've gone through enough trouble for one day," Luisa grinned, mussing her hair. "We don't need you giggling too."

"And Ricky already got a taste of it," Nell smiled, feeling Ricky fall asleep on her shoulder. "But maybe you and Elena can share Mateo's giggling potion."

"At least it is temporary," Mateo added. "They'll giggle for a few minutes, then they'll feel a little tired and want to sleep."

"That's good to know," Nell smirked. "Now, why don't you and Bobby Lee help me put Ricky to bed. However," she paused, and made sure she faced Elena and Gabby as she spoke. "The girls are not, and I repeat NOT, to drink any of that potion until we get back! I know there are some people and adults around to supervise them, but I want you two with me when you give it to them. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" Mateo saluted.

"Okay, Mommy," Gabby nodded.

"We be good!" Elena promised.

"Good," Nell smiled, kissing their cheeks. "I know how restless you two get at long parties."

"You do?" Elena asked in confusion.

"Oh she certainly does," Florence smiled a little. "Especially when you two were babies."

"But we get gifts from new friends?" Gabby asked, holding up her hands.

"In a little while," Queen Elena smiled. "It takes a few minutes for everyone to talk and discuss business. Then the visitors bring presents to the younger people who attend the Festival. All we ask is for a little patience."

"Being pay-sent is hard!" Elena pouted a little.

"It can be," Queen Elena admitted, "But it's always worth the wait. Don't you want to be surprised when you get something from the different lands?"

"Okay!" Elena smiled.

"Me too!" Gabby agreed.

"That's all I ask," Queen Elena grinned, tossing Gabby in the air.

"Me next!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down.

"Of course you're next," Naomi grinned, taking her in her arms. "Elena can never stop talking about you!"

"Everybody loves Elena...both of them!" Bobby Lee grinned as he and Nell came back.

"All right, girls, are you ready?" Mateo asked, taking the vial and pouring a few drops into two small cups. "Just remember, it's one small sip each for both of you." Elena and Gabby nodded in understanding, then Mateo counted down. "Three...two...one...bottoms up!"

Elena and Gabby both took a small sip of the potion and started giggling madly.

"Oh no. The giggle twins!" Sofia laughed, smiling at the scene.

"Hey! We're not _that_ bad!" James jokingly pouted.

"What's everyone looking at me for?" Amber smirked in agreement. "I'm the good one!"

"No using my material, Amber!" James joked.

"They'll probably still be giggling when the potion wears off," Queen Elena joked.

"Or they'll giggle in their sleep," Nell joked back.

"Have they done that before?" Mateo asked with a smile.

"Oh they've spoken in their own language. But never giggled," Bobby Lee smirked.

"You sure about that?" Nell smiled, seeing Elena start to yawn.

A minute later, Elena and Gabby had fallen asleep. Nell expected to hear giggles again, but the girls were silent. "It's just about bedtime for these two little giggle-boxes anyway," she smiled.

"Well, we all wish them pleasant dreams," Prince Soji smiled, slipping two boxes into Bobby Lee's hands. "Those are two dolls from Satu for your little ones, as a souvenir of their first Feast of Friendship."

"Thank you!" Nell smiled as Ambassador Nathaniel and Prince Alonso followed suit with dolls from their kingdoms.

"When they wake up, we'll all help you write your new Andrew Harmon story, James," Madeline offered, "I love your stories, and I want to help write this one!"

"You can all help write it," James smiled.

"But does Ricky get gifts too?" Sabrina asked, not wanting Ricky to be left out.

"I'm sure he does get gifts," Florence assured her with a kiss on the cheek. "Just baby size."

"Baby size?" Sabrina asked in confusion.

"Yes," Prince Soji smiled as he, Prince Alonso, and Ambassador Nathaniel handed her three little boxes. "We wouldn't want Ricky to feel left out, would we?"

"Thank you, sir," Nell smiled. "When Ricky's awake, we'll give these to him."

"But for now, let's put the little ones to bed," Bianca agreed.

"I'll help!" Sofia offered, taking Ricky's gifts in her arms.

"Great! Thank you!" Nell smiled, taking a sleeping Elena in her arms. "I couldn't carry both them and Elena."

"We'll take some of the boxes, and our presents too," Amber offered as she and James gathered up the boxes.

"Will you be all right, loaded down like that?" Miranda asked.

"We'll be okay, Mom," James assured her, "but if we need help we'll let you know."

"At least we don't have to leave tomorrow," Bobby Lee smirked, carrying Gabby in his arms. "Elena would be so disappointed."

"Or upset that she couldn't play with the flying kitties," Bianca smiled, gently stroking Elena's hair.

"Or maybe both," James joked. "We know how attached she's been with everything."

"She does love kitties in any shape or form," Nell grinned.

"And we can help James write his new story," Sofia added.

"Would it be all right if you sent us a copy of the story when it's finished?" Prince Soji asked, motioning toward Prince Alonso, Ambassador Nathaniel, and himself, "We'd all love to read about this."

"Of course I will," James smiled.

"I'll have Mateo make copies of the story for you, so James doesn't have to keep writing, and Madeline, Sabrina, Elena, and Gabby don't have to keep drawing pictures," Queen Elena agreed. "If that's all right with you, James?"

"Of course it is," James smiled. "We don't want their hands getting tired when they draw kitties!"

"Especially Elena's," Nell grinned, hearing Elena mutter "Kitty" in her sleep as they made it to Elena and Gabby's room. "And she's dreaming of kitties right as we speak!"

"Oh, James, before we forget, I have one word of warning," Bobby Lee said after they put the girls to bed and were in his room, "Be sure you start the story in the morning. If you start it sometime during the night while everyone's sleeping, you know what will happen!"

Madeline and Sabrina grinned when they saw the look on Bobby Lee's face. "Yeah! This happens again!" Madeline giggled as she and Sabrina pushed James onto the bed and started to tickle him again.

"NO! Not again!" James laughed, trying to push them away.

"So we have your word not to start the story until tomorrow?" Bobby Lee grinned as he started attacking James' ribs with his fingers.

"Yes!" James laughed, trying to get away.

"Promise?" Madeline grinned.

"You better not be lying!" Sabrina added with a smirk.

"Oh, I would know when he's lying girls," Nell grinned, watching from the door. "Ricky's awake, so I'm just getting his Pat the Jaquin book. Hopefully it puts him back to sleep."

"Can we read it to him?" Sabrina and Madeline asked together, jumping up and down excitedly. "Please? Like we used to read to Elena and Gabby?"

"I think he'd like that," Nell smiled. "Meanwhile, I'll stay here with Bobby Lee and make sure James doesn't start writing right away!"

"No! I won't start writing! I promise!" James pleaded.

"Okay, but just so you're not tempted," Nell smirked, picking up his notebook, pencils, and his puzzle book, and tucking them under her arm. "And that goes for your puzzle book too!"

"But what if Chancellor Esteban wants a rematch?" James asked.

"Tomorrow," Nell smirked. "Right now, you need sleep."

"She's right, young prince," Bobby Lee smirked, gently glancing at his wife.

"Nell's always right," Madeline smiled, getting Pat the Jaquin from her older sister.

"And don't you forget it!" Nell smirked, mussing James' hair as they let him up.

"Can I at least read my mystery book?" James asked, picking up his book of Avaloran mysteries.

"Of course," Nell smiled. "You can get some ideas for the story from that, but no writing until tomorrow!" She picked up James' stuffed jaquin Zebra and nuzzled it against him. "And Zebra's going to keep an eye on you all night!"

"Come on. I can hear a cranky Ricky all the way from here," Bobby Lee smirked as Madeline and Sabrina ran ahead.

"Ricky, you okay?" Madeline cooed, taking her nephew in her arms.

"Did we wake you up when we were playing with James?" Sabrina asked.

"Would you like your kitties, Ricky?" Madeline asked, nuzzling Zoomer against Ricky.

Ricky stopped crying and giggled as he felt the touch of his favorite kitty. He reached out for Nell when she came in.

"Shall we read your book, Ricky?" Nell smiled, settling Ricky on her lap and taking out Pat the Jaquin.

Ricky squealed at the question, reaching out for the book so he could chew on it.

"No, no. Books aren't food," Madeline grinned, helping Nell with the book. "Elena used to chew on books too."

Ricky bounced in Nell's arms and giggled at the pictures as she read to him. He cooed as Madeline and Sabrina waved Zoomer and Greenie around when Nell talked about the flying kitties.

When Nell finished the story, Ricky had fallen asleep in her arms. "Well, let's get you back to bed," she smiled as she carried him to his crib, "And that goes for you too, girls! You can take your Feast of Friendship presents and open them in the morning."

"Okay!" Madeline smiled, "Good night, Nell! Good night, Ricky!"

"Good night!" Sabrina echoed.

"Good night, girls!" Nell grinned, giving them both tight hugs. "I love you both so much! I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Me too," Madeline admitted with a smile. "You help me with my scars."

"And me with tight spaces and closets," Sabrina added as she and Madeline had let go.

"And you all helped me get through my own nightmares," Nell smiled.

"We all helped each other, that's for sure," Bobby Lee smiled, pulling the three of them into a group hug.

In the morning Madeline and Sabrina found their nieces on top of each other's shoulders as they tried to reach for their gifts.

"What are you two doing?" Madeline yawned with a smirk.

"We want dollies!" Elena pouted, trying to get to where her and Gabby's gifts were.

"Well, when we're done with breakfast, we'll see what everyone got," Sabrina smiled, leading her and Gabby away.

"How did they know they're getting dollies?" Madeline asked.

"They must have heard Prince Soji talk about them last night," Sabrina reasoned. "They were pretty out of it when the potion wore off, but they can pick up certain words in their sleep, like dolly, or kitty!"

"Good point," Madeline smirked. She turned to her nieces. "Do you think we could have breakfast first, then we'll see what everyone got? I know I'd like to see some of the souvenirs I got from our visitors."

"Okay, we be pay-sent," Elena smiled.

"Good girls," Sabrina smiled, mussing their hair.

"Ricky be pay-sent too!" Gabby giggled, seeing her baby brother bang on his high chair table.

Ricky giggled back at her, then after everyone had breakfast, Nell gave James back his notebook, pencil, and puzzle books.

"Thanks, Nell," James smiled as he took them, "And yes, Zebra watched me all night, but there was nothing for him to see, since I was asleep!"

After breakfast, everyone opened their gifts from the Feast of Friendship. "Dollies!" Elena sang as she and Gabby showed them the dolls they got from each of the kingdoms.

"Very pretty, Elena," Amber smiled, "They're just as pretty as the jewelry I got!"

"I can't wait to start reading these new mystery stories!" James added, "Who knows? Maybe they'll give me ideas for future stories!"

"You make Andrew story today?" Elena asked.

"That's the plan, and you're going to be in it, remember?" James grinned.

"Yeah!" Elena giggled, clapping her hands.

Ricky squealed, shaking the toy rattle he had been given by Prince Alonso as he reached out for James.

"Sorry, little buddy; you can't write," James smirked.

"King say you write when you Ricky's age!" Elena looked puzzled.

"Roland was only teasing you when he said that," Bianca smiled. "But you're absolutely right, Elena Lydia; Prince James is a very talented writer, and he's been doing it a long time!"

Elena smiled, but she suddenly looked worried. "You won't put the mean lady in Andrew story, right?"

"Don't worry, Elena; Shuriki's not going to be in the story," James assured her. "I heard about you, Gabby, and Ricky having nightmares about her, and I won't put her, or any scary people, in this adventure."

"Thank you," Elena sighed in relief before feeling Ricky's rattle being thrown at her head. "Ow! Bad Ricky!"

"Maybe he wants to be in the story too," Nell smirked, handing Ricky a different toy. "Here you go sweetheart. Something you can't throw at your sister's head."

Ricky cooed when he felt the familiar touch of Zoomer. He offered him to Elena, who kissed the little jaquin, just like how she did with Kitty, and nuzzled Zoomer against him.

"That's right, Love Bug, kitties like kisses," Nell smiled.

"Yeah! James put Ricky and kitties in Andrew story, please?" Elena smiled at James.

"Of course Ricky and the kitties are going in there," James smiled. "Don't worry, Elena, I'll make sure Ricky and our kitties have good parts to play."

"How that happen?" Gabby asked in confusion.

"Well, Miss Anna, don't you think Mr. Edward deserves a chance?" James asked with a smile.

"Yes?" Gabby agreed though still a bit confused. "You be Andrew now?"

"That's right," James grinned. "It's time for me to go into Andrew mode!"

"I can't wait to see how he describes some of us," Nell grinned.

"Hopefully I'll get something cool," Bobby Lee grinned. "I heard Roland's character is a captain of the guards with knowledge of criminal activities!"

"We'll just have to wait and see, Robert," Roland grinned back. He remembered how he used to read James mystery stories when he was younger. James had said that his character used to be a double agent for an enemy.

"Me play too!" Elena yelled, seeing Queen Elena as she ran into her arms.

"But we played last night," Queen Elena grinned, mussing her hair. "Besides I'm a little busy today."

"So you can't be in Andrew story?" Elena frowned.

"Not right now, but I can't wait to see what James has in store for the Countess Castilla!" Queen Elena grinned as she spun her around.

"And don't worry, Elena, she's a good guy," James assured her.

"Queen Elena always good!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands, but she suddenly stopped. "Uh oh. Can't flap in story!"

"Don't worry about that, Elena; Miss Lydia also has autism, but nobody cares if she flaps, not even Andrew," James assured her.

"Glad you thought of her, James," Nell grinned, kneeling towards Elena. "Now Love Bug, some of the grown-ups can't play because they have things to do. But Daddy and I can play with you."

"We'll probably never get another chance like this again," Bobby Lee added with a smirk.

"What that mean?" Elena asked in confusion.

"How often do we get to play with flying kitties or help James write his stories?" Bobby Lee asked.

"We help him when he has a question, or if he needs an idea," Nell added. "But we rarely get the chance to come here and fly on jaquins and play with the baby flying kitties."

"Cause you're grown-ups?" Elena guessed. "And you're a mommy and a daddy?"

"Exactly Love Bug," Bobby Lee grinned, picking her up. "But now it's time for us to play with you and help James with his story."

"What happens now?" Gabby asked, tugging on James' pants leg.

"Well, let's set the scene for the story. What do you want to happen?" James asked.

"Everyone flies on kitties!" Elena cheered.

"They will be flying on kitties," James smiled. "We can have some people fly on them when Andrew and Julie come to Avalor to solve the mystery, and they can ride the kitties when they look for the bad guy, and they'll ride them after they solve the mystery."

"What Andrew doing in Avalor?" Gabby asked.

"People have just started laughing for no reason when they drink their water," James grinned, remembering the potion Mateo and Queen Elena had slipped Esteban. "They're not hurt by it, but whatever makes them laugh makes them sleepy, and when they fall asleep, someone breaks into their houses and steals from them."

"That's an interesting idea," Nell grinned.

"No stealing!" Elena cried, crossing her arms. "You no take Kitty!"

"It's just a story Elena," Gabby assured her sister with a hug. "It not real."

"Stealing bad," Elena sniffed, pulling Kitty close to her chest.

"Don't worry, Elena, the jaquins are all safe in the story, and they're helping solve the mystery," James assured her. "Nobody's going to steal them. The only things that get stolen are some gold figurines, some coins and pottery, and maybe a few jewels."

"Someone steals jewels?" Amber looked ready to faint.

"The jewels are recovered, Amber!" James sighed. "And no, they're not used to bring someone back or make them more powerful," he added, remembering a letter Queen Elena had sent Sofia about Shuriki doing just that.

"How about we start before you upset any more people?" Nell suggested, seeing Ricky hold Zoomer tight in his arms.

"Good idea," James grinned. "And don't worry Ricky, Zoomer's safe."

"All the kitties are," Elena smiled.

"Elena, why don't you, Gabby, Madeline, and Sabrina start drawing pictures for me?" James suggested, "I had some ideas for new characters, and you know what my other ones look like."

"Okay," Madeline agreed, "We can wait until you write the story, then we can put the pictures in wherever you want."

"Good idea," James agreed. "I'll start by writing the descriptions of each of the new characters, and you can draw their pictures. You've drawn a few of my own characters too, so you know what they look like."

"Can we also give you ideas for the story?" Sabrina asked, glancing around the room at everyone.

"Sure, Sabrina! In the immortal words of Mom, the more the merrier!" James grinned.

"Start now!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"What about pay-sent?" Gabby frowned. "We're Ricky's exam-poles!"

"Stories don't have pay-sent!" Elena shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.

"What about being Ricky's examples?" Madeline asked, taking Kitty from Elena.

"KITTY!" Elena cried.

"Elena, do you want me to write this story or not?" James asked. "This was supposed to be fun. But people keep objecting to some of the ideas I told you about, and I've got new characters to work with. I just want to know how they'll work together with my characters. I also want to use some of the puzzles I got in the story, so I have to look those up too."

"Don't be sad, James," Elena said as she hugged him. "I be good girl."

"You're right, James," Amber added. "We all know it's just a story, and I didn't mean to make you angry."

"But let James start. It's his story," Madeline said, still holding Kitty. "That means you have to be patient, Elena."

"If you're not, you don't get Kitty back," Sabrina added, glancing towards Sofia. "Sofia can have her for safe keeping now."

"Don't worry, Elena, I'll take care of Kitty while you're drawing the pictures," Sofia smiled as she took Kitty. "But everyone remember, if James wants us to give him ideas, he'll ask. Or if he has a question for us, he'll ask."

"Okay," Elena smiled as she watched James start writing. She smiled as James read some of the story out loud, when normally he'd read it to himself. However, she started drawing pictures of people riding the flying kitties as Madeline read her some of James' notes.


	14. Chapter 14

Nell distracted Ricky as she watched his older sisters help James with his story. She knew how her little guy loved his big sisters, but his cooing couldn't distract them from their work.

"Where's Mommy?" Bobby Lee asked playfully, shielding her eyes with Zoomer as Nell had a chuckle escape from her lips.

She remembered how they used to do it with Elena and Gabby when they were Ricky's age.

Elena giggled as she drew her character riding on Kitty for the story. "Like this, James?" she asked.

"That's great, Elena," James smiled. He'd been going back and forth between some of his puzzle books and the notes he'd made, and the story was shaping up really well. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you before."

"I should be more pay-sent," Elena smiled, seeing Ricky a little confused. "Me and Gabby are Ricky's exam-poles."

"And you're good ones at that," Florence smiled, musing her hair.

"I remember that Helen Genevieve never liked being distracted when she was writing either," Bianca smiled as she recalled Nell writing a story for a contest at school when she was younger. She'd won first prize in her class for it, and she had been thrilled. "Sometimes she helps Prince James if he has a question, but mostly they write their own wonderful stories."

"He's got two boxes of stories!" Elena spoke up.

"That's true, Love Bug, but he says that one is for his favorite stories," Bobby Lee explained. "The other one is for stories he wants to work on later."

"Why he do that?" Gabby asked.

"Sometimes I don't like the way a story goes, and I put it in my 'try again later' box," James explained. "If I find a story in there, I read it again to remind myself what the story's about, and I try some new ideas. Sometimes I find an idea, or I throw the story out, since it's not working even with the new idea."

"You not throw out Kitty story, right?" Elena asked.

"Of course not," James assured her, pausing in his writing to give her a hug.

Ricky cooed, reaching for Zoomer as Nell took him in her arms.

"He found Mommy," Nell smirked, glancing at Bobby Lee. "You used to be good at that game."

"It's not my fault that I'm rusty!" Bobby Lee joked, covering Elena and Gabby in kisses.

"What game?" Elena asked in confusion.

"Remember when Mommy and I played peek-a-boo with you and Gabby?" Bobby Lee smiled. He took Pinky from Sofia and put it in front of his face. "Where's Daddy, Ricky? Where's Daddy?"

James smirked and did a 'Ms. Napkin Head' routine as he picked Ricky up as said, "Behind the kitty. What am I, a dummy?"

As Ricky giggled, Nell took him from James and cooed, "You're not a dummy, Ricky! No you're not!"

"How's the story coming, James?" Bobby Lee smirked, mussing his hair.

"Pretty good! Thanks for asking!" James grinned as Madeline and Sabrina told him about some of their ideas.

"We play peek-a-boo too?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Hopefully you'll do better than Daddy," Nell smirked, covering her in kisses. "But I love your kitty drawing!"

Elena smiled at the compliment as Gabby hid her eyes with her drawing.

"James, don't say a word," Sabrina smiled, distracting him with her ideas.

"I wouldn't dream of it," James smirked, listening to Sabrina's ideas for Lady Marie.

"Where's Gabby?" Nell cooed, seeing Ricky confused. "Where's your big sister?"

"Here I am!" Gabby giggled, taking her drawing away from her eyes.

Ricky squealed, reaching over to hug his big sister.

"Can Lady Elizabeth and Lady Marie help solve the case?" Madeline asked, showing James a picture she'd made of her and Sabrina in fancy dresses.

"Since they came to Andrew and Julie when they first came to Avalor, of course they're working with them," James agreed. "But don't worry. Neither of them will be used as bait. I tried using traps before in one or two of my other stories, and I didn't like the way those were turning out."

"Try again later!" Elena piped up, flapping her hands.

"I might try one of those stories later, but only if you help me, Elena," James smiled.

"I help with Andrew story!" Elena giggled.

"And you'll do a great job at helping him," Nell grinned. "Just like you and Gabby did with Ricky."

"Of course, if Elena helps you with your story, you might have to re-write it with her in it too!" Bobby Lee grinned.

"Okay," James agreed. "We'll see how she does in this story, and if I like the way her character interacts with Julie and Andrew, Miss Lydia will go in another story."

"Kitty too?" Elena asked.

"Miss Lydia might have to have a domestic kitty, since Jaquins aren't native to Jameslandia," James replied. He saw that Elena looked ready to pout, so he added quickly, "But that doesn't mean that she can't be the same color as Kitty."

"Or you could make your little friend Snow White Miss Lydia's kitty, since she's a domestic kitty," Florence suggested.

"Or as domestic as she gets, living in the stables," Bianca added, knowing that Elena's kitty Snow White had to live in the castle stables due to Roland's allergies.

"That's a brilliant idea!" James smiled. "And her name can still be Snow White."

"Yeah! Snow White be in Andrew story!" Elena cheered.

"Good move, everyone," Bobby Lee smiled.

"That's right; you made her happy. But let me warn you, James: Elena's spelling might not be as great as yours," Madeline smiled.

"But that shouldn't matter. What matters is that she's helping," Sabrina smirked, seeing Ricky turn red. "And it might get her away from Ricky for a while."

"I don't like him bad," Elena frowned, grabbing her crayons.

"He's not bad, Love Bug; he just needs a little attention...and a clean diaper can't hurt either!" Nell said as she started to carry Ricky out when she heard him start fussing. "We'll be back as soon as we can, James! Don't let Andrew solve the mystery without us!"

"I'll make sure he won't," James promised. "And don't worry about Elena's spelling, Madeline; that's why I'm here to check it. After all, I've been writing since I was at least Ricky's age!"

"For a long time, anyway, Prince James," Florence smirked as she mussed his hair. "But you are a very good writer."

"You write better than most of the boys at our school!" Sabrina giggled, showing him what she had written so far.

"When they're not throwing papers balls at us, calling us princesses, or dunking our heads in the water tub, that is," Madeline sighed, biting her lip. "But that's not the worst things they've done. Sabrina, remember the day before Wassailia break?"

"I do not want to talk about the closet, Madeline Elizabeth!" Sabrina snapped, going back to her drawing. "If you want to spoil the happy memories I'm making here in Avalor by blabbing it out, then do it! I don't care!"

"Come here, Sabrina Marie," Bianca murmured, "Let's take a walk and you can calm down."

"Okay," Sabrina muttered, following her out.

"Come with me, Madeline," Florence added, leading Madeline out. "Let's have a talk of our own."

"Come here, Elena," Sofia suggested, motioning her over to the couch and letting her cuddle Kitty while Florence and Bianca took Madeline and Sabrina out. "Everything's going to be all right."

"I could use a little break anyway," James said as he got up to stretch. "Do you guys want anything while I'm out?"

"Cookies," Elena smiled a little.

"Oh no. You'll just get filled up with sugar," Sofia smirked. "Or get a stomachache."

"Maybe I can find Queen Elena for you," James suggested, bopping her nose. "Maybe it'll take your mind off cookies."

"Cookies?!" Gabby gasped happily. "Get me one! Please!"

"If Mr. Armando says it's okay," James smiled. "Come on, you two."

Elena and Gabby followed James out of the room. They saw Madeline and Sabrina coming back. "Is everything okay?" James asked.

"We'll discuss it later," Florence murmured.

"That's okay," Amber smiled, putting an arm around Madeline. "If they don't want to tell us about it, they don't have to."

"Don't be sad," Elena smiled as she hugged her aunts.

"You always know what helps," Sabrina smiled as she hugged her back.

"You always give the best hugs," Madeline added, gently stroking Elena's hair.

"She wouldn't be a Love Bug if she wasn't," Nell smirked, seeing the interaction.

"Ricky better?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Much better," Nell grinned. "And I heard someone asking for cookies. I think we could all use a cookie break."

"How's the story coming, James?" Madeline asked.

"Really well," James smiled as Armando brought out a plate of cookies. "I'll let you read some if it when we get back from our break."

"And it's so nice to see you taking a break instead of writing nonstop," Nell smiled.

"Or we get out the monster!" Elena giggled, smiling at Ricky. "Roar. Roar!"

"Is it night-night time already?" Bobby Lee joked.

As Nell pouted, since Bobby Lee always called her a horrible snarling monster due to her snoring, Ricky clapped his hands happily, knowing that she was only playing before grabbing the nearest cookie.

"Roar! Roar!" Elena continued happily, giving Nell a hug.

"Elena, that's enough roaring," Sabrina smirked.

"Okay. We don't want to scare Kitty," Elena smiled.

They smiled as they watched Ricky teething on the cookie. "That's right, Ricky; cookies, like music, make everything better," James smiled.

"Has he tried cookies before, Mommy?" Gabby asked with a smile.

"I think it's his first one, sweetheart," Nell grinned. "But I don't want him to have a tummy ache."

"What that mean?" Elena asked in worry for her little brother.

"You don't want Ricky to get sick again, do you?" Nell asked.

"No! Being sick no fun!" Elena gasped.

"Well, why don't we let you finish your cookies, then we'll go back and see how James is doing with his story?" Nell suggested.

"It's coming along pretty well," James smiled. "I decided to take a break, but I'll start again when we go back."

After they had finished their cookies, Elena and Gabby sat down next to James while he began to go back to his story.

"No! Mine!" Elena wailed, seeing Ricky take some of her crayons.

"Elena, be nice or you're going in timeout," Nell warned. "Ricky probably wants to color too."

"I be good!" Elena blurted out, remembering what would happen to Kitty and Pinky if she went in timeout again. "Ricky can share crayons!"

"That's what I thought you said, and I'm glad you remembered what will happen if you go in timeout again," Nell nodded. "But remember, if I have to talk to you one more time..."

"I be good girl, Mommy!" Elena pleaded tearfully.

James looked up from his writing. "Well, I'm glad that's settled, but there's a new problem," he said as he took her on his lap. "Like I said, this is supposed to be fun, and I can't have fun writing this story if someone's crying!"

"Sorry," Elena frowned. "I be a very good girl."

"That's all we ask," James smiled. "Queen Elena wouldn't like it if you were upset."

"And Ricky's having fun with your crayons," Bobby Lee smiled, seeing what was going on.

Nell smiled as she watched Ricky scribbling on a piece of paper. She had made sure to give Ricky a blank sheet of paper, so the girls' drawings and James' story wouldn't be ruined.

"Ricky, can we use your picture as the cover art of my folder when the story's written?" James asked. "I might have to write the title on the picture, but that's all I'll do when it's done."

Ricky squealed and bounced in Nell's arms. He didn't know what James was talking about, but he wanted to be part of what was going on.

"That's a good idea," Nell smiled. "This way, Ricky can contribute something to the story too."

"And he has the most adorable little scribbles I've ever seen," Queen Elena smiled, causing Elena to run over to her.

"Yay! You can play now!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

Ricky cooed, holding up his scribbles for Queen Elena to see.

"We'll have to make a copy of this picture," Queen Elena smiled as she took him in her arms. "I'll hang it up next to the picture your sister made!"

"Kitty picture!" Elena cheered, recalling how Mateo had made a copy of the picture she had made of the Grand Council as cats.

"That's right, sweetheart," Queen Elena smiled. "The two of you are wonderful artists!"

"Me too?" Gabby asked, showing them the picture she was drawing.

"You are too, Gabby," Queen Elena smiled.

"I don't know how they ended up talented," Bobby Lee joked with a smirk.

"Maybe from living with royalty all their lives?" James smirked, looking at Elena and Gabby's drawings.

"Curse our bad influence?" Amber joked, using a phrase James often used.

"No, more like bless your positive influence!" Nell smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Now I know where all the girls get their talents for art and music!"

"So it's not a bad influence?" Sabrina smiled.

"Of course not," Florence grinned, mussing her hair.

"But why did you get angry with Madeline earlier?" James wondered.

"Is it those boys again?" Nell growled, gently holding Ricky so he wouldn't roll away.

Sabrina nodded. "I think I'll let Maddie talk about it, but only if she wants to."

"It's okay, Madeline, you know you're among friends here," Sofia assured Madeline, pulling her into a hug.

Ricky reached out to hug her, causing Bobby Lee to smirk.

"He really is a snuggle bug," Bobby Lee grinned, mussing his hair.

"I...I can't tell all of you," Madeline sighed. "I just hate those boys!"

"It's okay, Maddie," Sabrina tried to comfort her, "If you don't want to tell us about it, that's okay, but you know we're all here for you when you're ready."

"Thank you," Madeline sniffled, taking Butterfly in her arms and hugging her tightly.

"You do know that all boys aren't bad, right?" James asked, pausing in his writing to give her a hug.

"I know, but they locked Sabrina in a closet. Those boys thought it was funny," Madeline hiccupped.

"That does explain why I had to come to pick you girls up earlier than usual," Nell frowned. "I thought we settled everything with them back in kindergarten."

"That long?" Queen Elena asked in surprise.

"Meanies!" Elena yelled, hugging both Sabrina and Madeline.

"I'm sorry, Nell!" Madeline broke away from Elena and buried her face in Nell's chest.

"Oh...my sweet little butterfly," Nell murmured, pulling her into a hug. She reached out her other hand to Sabrina, who buried her face in Nell's other side. "And my sweet baby girl...I'm so sorry that happened."

"Not as sorry as I was," Sabrina whimpered. "I almost had an accident in the closet, but you got me out in time."

"Nobody saw it, and we got you to the bathroom in time before we took you home," Nell murmured.

"We use scepter on boys?" Elena wondered with a smile.

"Sorry, sweetie, but I don't do things like that," Queen Elena explained, taking her in her arms. "But as queen, I declare that the rest of your vacation has to be a happy one."

Ricky squealed, trying to reach for her.

"That's right, Ricky," Queen Elena smiled, taking him in her arms. "Will you and your big sister help me make sure everyone has a happy time?"

Ricky squealed and bounced in her arms, then reached for his big sister.

"We help you!" Elena cheered.


	15. Chapter 15

Elena didn't mean to take her idol's request of being happy for the rest of their vacation literally but she did as she excused herself so she could go potty. Helping James write about kitties wasn't easy when you worried about having an accident after all.

After using the potty, she went to her room and found two things other than Kitty that made her happy, Nell and Bobby Lee had allowed her and Gabby to each bring three toys so they wouldn't get bored while Ricky was napping.

Elena picked up her feelings puzzle, who she recently named Shirley, and her recent Wassailia gift Ellie.

Ellie looked similar to her idol but younger; she had been made by a friend of her mommy's while Nell and Amber made all of her outfits. Elena had been attached to her since opening her as she gently stroked her hair.

"I sorry I woke you up," Elena apologized.

"I think she had a longer nap than needed," Madeline smirked, mussing her hair. "Nell sent me to find you. She thought you got lost finding the potty."

"No I did not!" Elena pouted.

"I know you didn't. But if you think you know the hallways now, don't play Naked Baby here. I don't think you want another time out," Madeline grinned.

"No!" Elena gasped at the thought. She recalled that if she had one more timeout, she wouldn't see Kitty or Pinky until they went home. "I be a good girl!"

"We know you will," Madeline smiled. "Don't worry, Elena. Sofia's taking really good care of Kitty and Pinky, and we agreed that you could have them back when James was done with his story."

"How story coming? Is Miss Lydia riding a kitty?" Elena asked.

"Andrew had everyone ride a jaquin so they could sneak up on the person responsible for the laughing potion and the thefts," Madeline started explaining. "The person was caught, thanks to Duke Herbert, Captain Lee, and Mr. Edward, and now everyone's riding a jaquin for fun!"

"Ricky do something in Andrew story?" Elena gasped. "What he do?"

"I'm gonna have James explain that one," Madeline smiled. "Now why do you have your dolls?"

"They wanna hear Andrew story too!" Elena smiled.

"Okay, and I think you'll be happy to know that Nell suggested to James that Miss Ellie and Miss Shirley are included in the story," Madeline grinned. "They're friends of Miss Anna and Miss Lydia, and they're lookouts for Andrew and Julie."

Elena giggled at the idea. She knew James wanted to make everyone happy when he put everyone's ideas in the story. He sometimes had to go over the ideas again and see which ones would work. Some would go in, while James wrote other ideas on a separate paper where they'd be used in his other stories.

"James! Andrew story done?" Elena giggled, hugging James' legs.

"Easy Love Bug," Nell smirked. "You don't want to lose your dollies, do you?"

"No!" Gabby gasped, looking from where she was playing, "Don't lose your dollies!"

"Just about done," James smiled, looking up from where he was writing something on the inside cover of the folder. "Nell, read what it says."

Nell took the folder, and smiled as she read, "'To my friends and family. Thanks for helping me write this brilliant new story. I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it,'" She pulled James into a hug as she continued, "You dedicated your story to us? James, that's so sweet of you!"

"James good!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"No, no, Ricky. That's Elena's dolly," Gabby grinned, gently taking Ellie out of Ricky's hands.

"What harm can he do, Gab-Gab?" Bobby Lee asked, giving Ellie to Ricky. "But you have to be a friend to Ellie, little guy. No chewing."

Ricky squealed and gave Ellie a hug. He flapped his hands like Elena sometimes did and bounced on Nell's lap.

"I've noticed that Ricky sometimes flaps his hands like Elena does," Sofia whispered to Nell as she watched him. "You don't think he has autism too, do you?"

"No," Nell whispered back. "We had Ricky tested a few months after he was born, and he didn't have it, thank goodness!"

"He just likes to copy her sometimes," Bobby Lee smirked, hearing the whispers. "And he's being so gentle with Ellie!"

"That's surprising," Queen Elena grinned, watching Ricky play with Ellie. "And I like her dress."

"Mommy did it," Gabby grinned, joining Sabrina and Madeline in the game they were playing.

"She makes pretty dresses, just like James writes wonderful stories," Queen Elena continued. "Mateo, are you ready to work your magic on James' story?"

"I've been ready," Mateo grinned. He aimed his tamborita at the folder, and made a copy of it. "Now you have the original story, and I can work my magic on the copy." he continued.

Everyone watched as Mateo cast a spell and turned the copy of the folder into several leather-bound books. "Here you go, Elena," Mateo grinned, "Our copy for the castle library, and I made three extra copies for our friends from Satu, Norberg, and Cordoba, just like we'd talked about. I also made a copy for me and Naomi, if that's okay?"

"Of course it is," Queen Elena smiled, "We all agreed that everyone who helped with the story or seemed interested in it deserves a copy of it."

"And don't worry, Elena," James added, "This is going in the box that has my favorite stories in it!"

"We get book too?" Elena asked, tugging on Nell's dress.

"Please?" Gabby begged.

Ricky cooed, tugging on Nell's dress sleeve.

"Sure," James grinned, "Mateo, could you make a copy of the folder that's all pictures?"

"No problem," Mateo grinned back as he copied the folder again and made another hard-cover book. "I put the words at the bottom, so if Nell wants to read it, she can read it. Or if Elena, Gabby, and Ricky want to tell the story with pictures, they can do that."

"We take this book to sharing time at school!" Elena shouted.

"Miss Milly and everyone will love this!" Gabby giggled.

"Indoor voice, Elena," Bobby Lee grinned.

"What that mean?" Elena asked in confusion.

"Let's say that Ricky or Gabby were taking a nap," Sabrina suggested with a smile.

"Why?" Elena pouted. "They're not sleepy now!"

"We know that, but we also know that you're excited about being included in James' story; believe me, we all are," Sabrina smiled, "But do you think you could be a little quieter in your celebration?"

"You can shout as much as you want outside, but not inside," Madeline added.

"Babies don't like loud noises. Ricky's used to you, Love Bug," Nell smiled, seeing Elena about to pout. "And he's not crying right now. But I remember when you two were a few days old. Just after Daddy tried to be a bird."

"That was only once and you know it, Helen!" Bobby Lee pouted as Bianca and Florence had come into the room, smiling in amusement.

"Aunties not use their indoor voice?" Gabby guessed.

"We were trying to stop Bobby Lee from drinking nectar out of your head," Madeline giggled. "He said he thought he was some kind of hummingbird after doing so many shifts for the guards when they were sick."

"Oh yes," Nell smirked. "You and Sabrina were both laughing so hard that we thought he'd wake Elena up after we put her down for a nap. He was sniffing the top of Gabby's head when you came in. Fortunately, the girls could sleep through everything and didn't hear you!"

"Maybe so with hummingbirds, Helen Genevieve, but not when they were trying to nap and all your sisters did was make noise," Bianca started with a smile.

"Of course you and Robert may not remember because you two went to a dance that night," Florence finished with a smirk.

"A young couples' one?" Queen Elena smirked, seeing both Nell and Bobby Lee blush.

"Well, I did want to have him relax a little, since he'd been working so hard," Nell admitted.

"And it worked," Bobby Lee smiled. "You and I waltzed away with first prize in our age division!"

"And while you two were dancing the night away, we were trying to keep your sisters quiet, so Elena Lydia and Gabby Anna could get some sleep," Bianca added.

"I don't remember it working out well," James smiled, hearing Ricky yawn. "Looks like someone needs a nap."

"I'll take him," Florence offered, taking Ricky in her arms. "Oh! You're your daddy's son alright. You're a heavy little man."

Ricky cooed happily, snuggling close to her chest as he dropped Ellie to the floor.

"Finish story please?" Elena pleaded, picking up her dolls. "Shirley and Ellie wanna hear too."

"Okay, Love Bug; let's see where we left off..." Nell smiled, taking Elena, Shirley, and Ellie next to her.

"You were dancing away," Sabrina recalled with a smile. "Miss Bianca watched us that night."

"She wasn't very fun," Madeline frowned. "She kept playing with Elena and Gabby."

"She wanted them to go back to sleep, and as soon as they did, we spent some time with you two," Florence smiled. "Now, would you two like to help put Ricky down for his nap? I'm sure he'll have exciting dreams after hearing James' story."

"He really liked riding on his kitties," Madeline smiled, recalling how Ricky would giggle every time James talked about Mr. Edward zooming through the sky on a jaquin.

"That's all he did?" Elena frowned.

"Well he's a baby. Mr. Edward can't walk or talk yet and can't carry certain things without chewing on them," James smiled, mussing her hair.

"He also caused a bit of a distraction for your villain by chewing on his shoes," Queen Elena joked.

"Eew! Toe jam!" Bobby Lee smirked, tossing Ricky up. "But thanks for the save you gave us in the story, you little ankle-biter!"

"With wordplay that good, you should write stories too," Sofia suggested.

"Maybe," Nell smirked.

Ricky cooed, reaching for Florence's arms as he began to fuss.

"Come here," Florence cooed, taking him in her arms. "In three days you'll be going home to all your toys and things to chew on."

"Go home?" Elena frowned.

"Don't you want to see Miss Milly and all your friends in preschool again?" Nell asked. "You can tell them all about how you rode the flying kitties, and helped James write his newest story..."

"And you can tell them how you got to sit with the Grand Council and give them some ideas," Bobby Lee added, recalling the picture of the Grand Council as cats that was in Elena's room. He had seen Mateo make a copy of it so they could take the original one home.

"Not even Miss Milly gets to do that," Gabby smiled, giving Elena a hug.

"Kitties bye-bye," Elena sniffed, running off in tears,

"Not for a few more days, sweetheart," Florence smiled as she caught her. "There are still so many things you can do while you're here. Francisco's going to play his guitar after dinner, and you can dance with everyone."

Elena smiled. She did like dancing, and though she didn't get to do much of it at the big party they'd had, the dancing she did with Sabrina and Madeline was fun.

"It'll take your mind off the kitties," Queen Elena smiled. "They'll miss you too."

"They will?" Elena asked in surprise.

"It's not every day that they get a friend that loves them so much," Nell smiled, mussing her hair. "Or knows what a kitty does."

"You can dance with Mingo, Zoom, and Estrella, since they're small enough for you to carry," Queen Elena smiled.

"It'll be just like when you dance with Snow White," Sofia smiled. "She likes that too."

"So does Jagger," James grinned.

"Doggie dance?" Gabby asked shyly.

"Yes he does. But he mostly likes chasing his tail," James answered, mussing her hair.

"I take Ricky so he go nap-nap," Elena offered, tugging on Florence's dress.

"You can come with me, and we can tell Ricky more kitty stories," Florence smiled. "That'll be fun, right?"

"Yeah! James writes kitty story down so we read it!" Elena giggled.

"Okay," James agreed as he got out his notebook again and went off with them.

"He's going to be working his fingers to the bone again with all that writing," Bobby Lee smirked.

"But we know how to make him stop!" Madeline giggled.

"Right; tickling him until he agrees to stop," Nell smirked.

"Kitty story get Ricky to go nap-nap!" Elena giggled, looking over James' shoulder.

"I know you're excited, but no distracting the artist at work," Florence smiled, gently rubbing Ricky's back.

"Don't worry, she won't," Bobby Lee grinned.

"I be good girl!" Elena promised.

"Good," Florence grinned, taking her hand. "You wouldn't want Ricky to cry, do you?"

"No!" Elena gasped uneasily at the thought. "Ricky loud!"

"He's not too loud when he cries, but we want him to be happy," Florence smiled.

"Yeah! Queen Elena says that we have to be happy for the rest of our vacation here," Madeline agreed.

"Though Ricky is excused to not always be happy because he's a baby. Crying is his only way to see if he's hungry or wants a nap," Bobby Lee smiled. "You better get him down for his nap before he starts getting fussy."

"And I stay with him!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands. "I'm a good sister!"

"You are a good sister," Nell smiled. "You try to help him when we're home, you share Kitty with him, and he loves hearing the stories you make up with your picture books."

"Maybe you'll be a writer like James," Bobby Lee suggested.

"I write Andrew stories too?" Elena asked.

"Or stories about kitties, or whatever you want," Nell smiled. "You might even call them Lydia stories, since you'll be the main character."

Elena smiled at the idea of writing her own stories as Ricky began to fuss.

"It okay Ricky. I tell you kitty story!" Elena giggled.

Ricky squealed at the idea despite how cranky he was becoming.

"I put Zoomer and Greenie in this story, just like James did!" Elena added.

"They'll have the cutest adventure together, won't they?" Nell smiled as she laid Ricky down on the bed to change him.

"Yeah! Ricky goes on adventures with his kitties, like I do with mine!" Elena cheered, flapping her hands.


	16. Chapter 16

"How do you want to start your kitty story?" James asked, sitting next to Elena.

"Um, once in a place where it was very far, there were two kitties named Zoomer and Greenie. Zoomer goes zoom-zoom, and Greenie, well, he was green," Elena smiled as Ricky stopped fussing for a moment.

He knew Elena had a big imagination, but the infant had never heard her tell a story before. Especially a kitty story.

"Zoomer and Greenie played with their sisters Kitty, Pinky and Lily," Elena continued, "They all lived with their daddy Sarge-ant, mommy Bluebell, their sister Butterfly and brother Howie!"

James started writing down what Elena was saying. "Maybe after the story, you can draw the pictures like everyone was doing for my other story," he suggested.

"Okay!" Elena giggled. "The kitties all liked flying with their friends Zebra, Em-er-ald, Ella, their mommy Miss Pais-ley and daddy Re-gent!"

Ricky giggled at the mention of everyone's kitties in the story. He reached out for his own kitties, which Elena gave him. He placed Greenie's wings in his mouth to chew on them as James ruffled his hair.

"What else do you want to happen in your story?" James asked with a smile.

"Ricky pick," Elena suggested. "I'm making it for him after all."

Ricky squealed as Nell and Bobby Lee came in. Since he was nibbling Greenie's wings, he offered Zoomer to Bobby Lee.

"Is this for me? Thank you, buddy!" Bobby Lee grinned, making Zoomer nuzzle him, then giving him back. "How's the new story coming?"

"We're just starting it," James smiled. "But yes, we will take a break if we need one!"

"And Ricky don't want to nap-nap," Elena frowned.

"Maybe it's because his big sister's kitty story is keeping him up," Nell teased, tossing Ricky in the air.

"Hey! That's my game!" Bobby Lee pouted as Nell caught Ricky in her arms.

"You did it with Gabby Bobby Lee. Elena would always cry if you tried," James recalled with a smirk.

"I not like flying when I'm baby, but I like it now?" Elena pouted a little.

"She has been doing a lot of flying on the kitties," Bobby Lee smiled, kissing the top of her head. "But we'll only do that flying game when you really want us to do that."

"Good idea," James nodded, "Writing this story with me is supposed to be fun, right, Elena?"

"Yeah," Elena nodded. "And Ricky goes nap-nap!"

"We don't want you fussy, little guy," Nell cooed, putting Ricky in his crib.

"Yeah! If you're fussy, you'll be a monster with some teeth and a love for kitties!" Bobby Lee chuckled.

"We can work on our story later, Elena," James agreed. "But for now, why don't you start working on the pictures? Kitty and Pinky can help you with ideas, just like my plush friends back home help me with my stories!"

"Oh, yes, we've seen your brainstorming sessions!" Nell grinned as she remembered seeing James with some of his plush animals around him and a notebook in the middle of their circle. "We'll have to see if your friends agree with Zebra's ideas now too!"

"Sir Blaze-a-Lot, Prince Blizzard, Little Rex, and Cammo Kitty are all open-minded, and they welcome everyone's input," James smirked.

"Camel Kitty?" Elena asked.

"Cammo, short for Camouflage," James explained. "He blends in with his surroundings."

"Like Princess Rapunzel's frog?" Elena asked happily.

"He's not a frog honey," Nell smiled, mussing her hair. "Now come on; Ricky has to take his nap."

"Where Gabby go?" Elena wondered, tucking Zoomer in with Ricky. "She with Elena?"

"The last time I saw her, she was with Ms. Luisa, Florence and Bianca," Nell recalled. "They were all having tea in the dining hall, and then they were going to watch Gabby do some stretches, since Ms. Luisa was curious about how they worked."

"Gabby do my dances too?" Elena asked, recalling that she had made up some dances for Gabby to help strengthen her leg.

"We'll have to see, my little dancer," Nell grinned. "The first time Gabby's doctor saw her do them, he was surprised. He said he'd never seen dances like that, and said Gabby must have a wonderful teacher!"

Elena wanted to giggle as loudly as she could before remembering that Ricky was starting to take his nap. She kissed his forehead gently, taking Nell by the hand.

"There you are. Gabby's been wondering where you are," Isabel smiled, ruffling her hair.

"I help Ricky go nap-nap," Elena smiled.

"That's good," Isabel smiled as Sabrina came up to them.

"Sabrina, what's the matter?" Nell asked, seeing her worried expression.

"Madeline wanted me to find you," Sabrina replied, "She said her head was hurting again."

"Don't worry, Sabrina," Nell smiled, "We'll go check on her right now." She went off with Sabrina while Elena looked up at Bobby Lee.

"Auntie Madeline okay?" Elena asked.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Bobby Lee assured her, "Why don't we let Mommy check on her, and we'll go see what Gabby's up to."

"Okay," Elena sighed. She hated when Madeline wasn't feeling good. If her head was hurting badly, she couldn't play with anyone.

"Elena sad?" Gabby frowned, tugging on Bianca's dress, spotting her sister's expression.

"Auntie Madeline doesn't feel good," Elena sighed.

"Don't worry, Elena Lydia, Madeline Elizabeth will be just fine," Bianca assured her, taking her on her lap. "Florence and I just told her to lie down until she felt better. Fortunately, she said her headache was mild, so she'll be up and about before you know it."

Elena smiled a little. Even though Bianca said Madeline's headache wasn't too bad, she still didn't like it when she felt sick.

At the same time, Nell saw Madeline on her bed with Butterfly. She made sure to keep the lights dim as she came over and sat next to her. "Are you all right, my little Butterflies?" she asked, squeezing Madeline's hand.

"I'm sorry, Nell, this just started a few minutes ago," Madeline murmured. "I wasn't doing anything or thinking about anything. My head just started hurting!"

"Sweetheart, it's not your fault," Nell murmured, "If your head hurts, it hurts. You don't always need a reason for it to happen."

"Really?" Madeline smiled before she frowned. "But Elena doesn't like it when I'm sick."

"She doesn't like it when anyone is sick," Nell grinned, mussing her hair. "Remember back when I was pregnant with Ricky and I would get morning sickness?"

"Elena would get up earlier then you, and if Sabrina or I tried to get her back to bed, she refused," Madeline smiled at the memory.

"She was just trying to take care of me, like you and Sabrina did when I was pregnant with her and Gabby," Nell smiled. "It was even like that when I was sick in the middle of the night. I'd be in the bathroom, and when I was done, she'd be waiting outside the door for me."

"I remember," Madeline murmured, taking the lavender scented cloth Luisa had made for her, putting it over her eyes and laying down again, "She'd be outside the door, and you'd take her to the couch. You'd cuddle her and sing to her until she fell asleep, then you put the blanket over her and went back to bed."

"Elena really cares about everyone," Nell smiled, kissing Madeline's cheek. "She never wants to leave them alone when they're hurt or sick."

"Even if we say no!" Madeline giggled. "Nell, we're going home soon, right?"

"Right. As much as Elena wants to, we can't stay here forever," Nell smirked.

"I'm not really worried about Elena," Madeline admitted, "But I wonder how Sabrina will take it, since Howitzer lives here. Sure, they can be pen pals, but..."

"Exactly," Nell smiled.

"I know how they'll take it," Bobby Lee smirked. "Hey, James, can you come here for a second?"

"Sure. What's going on?" James asked.

Bobby Lee whispered something to him, then took his hands as he said, "I'm going back to Enchancia; I'll never see you again!"

"Don't...don't talk that way, Sabrina," James played along with him, re-enacting one of Nell's favorite movies.

"But it's true! I've just had the best Wassalia of my life, and now I have to go away," Bobby Lee sighed, "It isn't fair!" As Nell and Madeline giggled as James and Bobby Lee hugged them, he begged, "Howie, don't spoil it!"

"I'm not spoiling it, Sabrina; it's only making it better," James said as he kissed Madeline's hand.

Bobby Lee pulled James close and asked, "Howitzer, is this the end?"

"Of course not," James smiled, "It's only the beginning."

"It's official, you're never watching Grease again!" Nell giggled as she and Madeline applauded.

"No Grease for you!" Madeline giggled.

"Mommy, Auntie Madeline okay?" Elena asked, confused at what she was seeing. "Why Daddy and James act like the people from that movie you like?"

"They were just playing, Elena," Madeline smiled.

"I play too?" Elena asked.

"They were playing 'Help Auntie Madeline feel better so she can rest,'" Nell smiled. "Now for the next round, Auntie Madeline rests for a while, but I'll come back later to check on her."

"That sounds like a good game," Madeline smiled.

"I stay?" Elena pleaded. "Please?"

"I can't resist the puppy eyes!" Nell groaned playfully, ruffling Elena's hair. "Okay, but come get me when Auntie Madeline wakes up."

"Speaking of being awake, we better check on Ricky," Bobby Lee smirked, sneaking out of the room.

"If you want me to, we can do some more work on your kitty story," James offered.

"Not while Auntie Madeline sick," Elena shook her head.

"Okay," James agreed. "How about this? I actually got more than one mystery book at that bookstore where I got those puzzle books. If you'll give me a minute, I'll get them, and the mystery books I got from the Feast of Friendship. I'll read those to you until you fall asleep."

"Me too?" Elena asked.

"Why not?" James smiled. "I remember my mommy reading to me and Amber when I your age. She did it all the time when we were sick too. She'd read us to sleep, then she carried the healthy one out so the sick one could rest."

"And guess who's the healthy one?" Madeline grinned.

"Me. But I stay with Auntie Madeline!" Elena pouted. "Headaches can't get spread around over and over!"

"Good point, Elena," James smirked. "I'll go get my books, and maybe Zebra, because kitties like it when you read to them, and I'll be right back."

"Get Pinky?" Elena asked, holding up Kitty.

"Okay," James smiled. "I'll be back in a minute. Just call for someone if you need them."

"Taking care of Madeline, James?" Sofia asked as she spotted him out in the hall. "That's so sweet of you!"

"Well, at least she's easier to take care of then a crying baby!" Amber groaned, covering her ears. "Ricky hasn't stopped."

"Is he growing another tooth?" James wondered, closing the door so Elena nor Madeline could hear.

"Elena, well _Queen_ Elena, along with Nell and Bobby Lee, say that it's not the problem this time," Sofia sighed happily. "But you think maybe babies get homesick?"

"Maybe," James shrugged. "I remember reading something about this in the castle library once about babies in a new location for a long period of time. But I thought he was pretty well adjusted to being here. And like I said, he might even be feeling a new tooth coming in."

"We'll have to ask them, but I thought he was all right the whole time we were here," Amber agreed.

"Me too. But he could be getting restless," Sofia added.

"You two go on. I promised Elena and Madeline a story and I don't want to break it," James smirked.

"Hopefully it's just homesickness," Amber hoped as she and Sofia stepped into Ricky's nursery.

Ricky was in his crib, playing with his little rattle. Sofia and Amber watched as he threw it to the other end, then found his little teddy bear. He held him for a moment, then looked up when he saw the girls enter. He giggled softly and reached out to them.

"How's it going, Ricky?" Sofia smiled as she lifted him out and carried him to the rocking chair. She kissed his forehead, nodding when she noticed that he felt normal. "Are you showing your teddy bear your new rattle?"

"You need some attention, Ricky?" Amber smiled.

Ricky cooed, noticing the Enchancia crest on Amber's blouse before he started to fuss.

"Aw... So you are homesick," Sofia shushed, rocking him gently. "Poor little guy."

"We thought you liked it here," Amber frowned, stroking his hair. "All the flying kitties are here and Queen Elena..."

"It's okay, Ricky, we'll be home in a few days," Sofia murmured.

"Is everything okay?" Bobby Lee asked as he came in. He heard Ricky fussing, and took him from Sofia. "Ricky, is everything okay, buddy?"

"He's fine, but a little homesick," Sofia murmured.

"He started crying when he saw the Enchancia crest on my blouse," Amber explained as Sofia nodded to clarify.

"Poor little buddy. But Daddy knows what'll cheer you up," Bobby Lee grinned, spotting Ricky's rattle and picking it up with his free hand.

Ricky squealed happily as he watched his daddy shake his rattle.

"And you know what else we do with this?" Bobby Lee continued.

"What?" Sofia asked.

"Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah yeah!" Bobby Lee sang as he held Ricky with one hand and shook the rattle with the other.

As he was danced around the room, Ricky giggled while Amber rolled her eyes and joked, "You do know that disco's dead, right? I blame James for this!"

"You can't blame James for this; he's helping Nell and Madeline, and keeping an eye on Elena," Sofia smirked.

"You're right," Amber smiled, taking Ricky in her arms. "You feel better, Ricky?"

Ricky cooed, nibbling on her hand in response.

"Amber may be sweet, Ricky, but she is not food!" Sofia chuckled, smiling at the scene.

"I see a certain little guy is feeling better," Queen Elena smiled, watching the scene from the doorway.

"Sorry if we disturbed you, Queen Elena," Amber smiled, bringing Ricky over.

Queen Elena smiled as she took Ricky and hugged him. "You didn't disturb me; I was just taking a walk around the palace when I heard singing here."

Ricky pointed to Bobby Lee who couldn't help but blush softly in embarrassment.

"Did you find out what's making Ricky so upset?" Nell asked with Elena in tow.

"He's just a little homesick," Bobby Lee answered, taking Elena in his arms.

"My fault we stay long?" Elena frowned, looking ready to cry.

"No, of course not," Nell smiled, giving her a hug. "We all wanted to come here."

"That's right," Bobby Lee agreed. "We all wanted a change of scenery after Wassalia, not just you."

"But Ricky got homesick," Elena sniffed. "I sorry, Ricky. I bad sister."

"Elena, it's normal for anyone to miss home," Sofia assured, giving her a tight hug. "Even babies. He probably misses his other toys and his crib."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Love Bug," Nell smiled. "Everything's going to be just fine. It's only a couple more days, then we'll take him home. But we can always come here again."

"You're always welcome," Queen Elena smiled, joining in the hug. She kissed Ricky's forehead. "All of you."

"We bring Snow White?" Elena asked happily.

"I'm afraid not," Sofia smirked playfully. "But you can bring her picture with you next time."

"She loved sitting for the painter man," Elena admitted as Ricky reached out for her.

"That's right," Nell smiled. "And if Queen Elena were to come to Enchancia, she could take a picture with you, Snow White, Ricky, and Gabby."

"But for now, it's all right," Queen Elena smiled. "We've got a special treat for you after dinner: Abuelo's going to play his guitar!"

"James play piano too?" Elena asked.

"If he wants to," Nell smiled. "Wait; what am I saying? Of course he'll want to! But he won't know the music...but that never stopped him before!"

"Auntie Madeline well by then?" Elena asked hopefully.

"She will," Sofia smiled, taking her hand. "You wanna see Gabby?"

"Ricky go too?" Elena pleaded, jumping up and down.

"If he feels up to it," Nell smiled. "For now, let's go see how Auntie Madeline's doing, and see if James wants to make music with Mr. Francisco."

When they came to Madeline and Sabrina's room, they saw that Madeline was feeling better. She had just needed a little rest, and now she, Butterfly, Sabrina, and Howie were working with James and Zebra on the kitty story.

Elena wanted to pout, since this was supposed to be her story. However, she remembered that James had told her before that if anyone had an idea for a story, they could tell him about it, but the story would still be for her. She sat next to James and asked, "How's the story?"

"It's good," James smiled, "But I think I could use a break."

"You can play with Ricky. All he was feeling was homesickness," Sofia grinned.

"Maybe one of the kitties gets that way too!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands happily.

"And you want to dedicate your kitty story to Ricky?" Nell suggested with a smile.

"Yeah! James put Zoomer and Greenie in the story, and Ricky flies with them too!" Elena agreed.

"But this time there's no mystery," Nell smiled. "Everyone has a rest from adventures and flies around on kitties for fun!"

"James said that too!" Elena smiled.

"That's because this is your very first story," James smirked, ruffling her hair.

"But when I get as big as Auntie Madeline and Auntie Sabrina, I write mystery," Elena smiled before seeing her twin stand in the doorway with tears down her cheek. "Gabby sad?"

Gabby shook her head, looking at her feet.

"Were you working too hard on your stretches?" James asked.

Gabby shook her head and gave him a hug.

"Elena, why don't you go get Gabby's kitty Lily?" Sofia suggested as James carried her over to a chair and sat down with her. "That might help her feel better, like Kitty and Pinky help cheer you up."

"Okay," Elena smiled.

As Elena ran off to get her sister's kitty, Madeline stroked Gabby's hair before giving her a hug.

"What got you so sad?" Sabrina wondered. "Are you homesick too?"

Gabby nodded a little before shaking her head again.

"I miss home a little bit too," Sabrina admitted. "I'm going to miss Howitzer when we go home, but his mommy Miss Lily said we can write to each other."

"I name Lily after her!" Gabby giggled a little.

"And I named Howie after him," Sabrina smiled. "That way, we can have a new way to remember our vacation here."

"You like Howie!" Gabby giggled, clapping her hands.

"Yes she does," Nell smiled, kissing her cheek. "If we're lucky, they might fall in love and get married!"

"Nell!" Sabrina groaned, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

"And they're about the same age you and I were when I first realized that I really like you," Bobby Lee agreed.

"That's true," Nell smiled. "And we even invited them to visit Enchancia."

"That's right!" Bobby Lee smiled. "And who knows, they might move to Enchancia and start a new bakery! That way you can see each other whenever you want."

"Maybe, but we should be pen pals first!" Sabrina agreed.

"Kitty's here!" Elena giggled, holding Lily in her arms.

"Lily!" Gabby shouted happily, hugging her close.

"Gabby better?" Elena wondered with a smile. "I don't like when you're sad."

"Thank you, Elena!" Gabby smiled.

"That's what we like to see," Bobby Lee smiled.

The sisters hugged before Elena frowned. She was starting to miss home a little bit. She missed Snow White. She missed all her kitty friends in the stable.

"Elena, it's okay," Sabrina shushed, seeing her about to cry.

"Snow White," Elena muttered, running out of the room in tears.

Nell quickly caught up with her. "It's okay, Love Bug, we miss Snow White too," she said as she took her in her arms. "But you liked seeing all those other kitties, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Elena murmured.

"And you had fun riding the jaquins, didn't you?" Nell continued.

"Yeah!" Elena smiled.

"Well, when we get home, you can tell Snow White and all your kitty friends in the stable about them," Nell suggested. "I think they know Kitty, but you can introduce them to Pinky. That way, they can meet her sister."

"Okay. Treat now?" Elena asked happily.

"I guess we're all a little hungry," Madeline smiled. "Maybe we can have dinner early tonight?"

"If it's okay with the queen," Bobby Lee smirked. "Remember, she makes the rules. Even if Elena tried to get her to put down some kitty ones."

When they caught up with Queen Elena again, and asked her if it was okay if they ate dinner early, Queen Elena smiled. "Of course it is," she agreed. "I know some of us in the palace have waited a long time to eat, so we're getting ready early ourselves."

"I'll be a good girl and eat everything," Gabby whispered to Nell.

Nell smiled; she knew Gabby, and Bobby Lee, could both be picky, but since she, Florence and Bianca sometimes asked the chefs back home to make the recipes Luisa had given them, they had gotten better about experiencing new foods. "That's all I ask," she whispered, "I like it when you set a good example for Ricky."

"Even when he has very few teeth," Florence smiled, watching as her grandson looked at the food on his plate.

Solid foods were new to Ricky now that he had teeth, but Nell always made sure he had a bottle next to his plate in case he was thirsty.

"So everyone is homesick?" Queen Elena asked in sympathy as Elena tugged her dress.

"Was homesick but we're better now," Elena smiled. "But I still feel bad that Ricky got homesick."

"It's all right, sweetheart," Queen Elena smiled, "Everyone feels that way sometimes."

"Even you?" Elena asked.

"Yes, even me," Queen Elena nodded, "Especially when I was trapped inside that amulet all those years! But when Sofia freed me, and I was reunited with my family, I felt much better. But I never let the feelings overwhelm me. I had the memories of my family with me when I was away, so it was like they were still with me."

"What about the mean lady?" Gabby frowned.

"Sometimes those memories show up on occasion," Queen Elena admitted. "But I won't let them get to me."

"That's great to hear," Bianca smiled, turning to Ricky to see if he made a mess before holding a hand to her face. "Richard Edward!"

Ricky clapped happily at the mess he created with the bowl of mashed food he had been given by putting it on his head.

"Didn't Elena use to do the same thing when she was Ricky's age?" James smirked.

"Yes, and Gabby too," Bobby Lee grinned, "But they learned how to eat like big girls and we're very proud of them!" he added quickly before Elena could start yelling at him or Gabby could look embarrassed.

"At least you and I didn't do that," Amber whispered to James.

"Right," James whispered in agreement, "Or Baileywick would have had our heads on a platter!"

"That's right," Roland whispered in his ear, but he grinned and mussed their hair. "But we can't blame him for that; all children do that at that age."

"Okay, Ricky, you earned yourself a bath for that little stunt!" Nell chuckled, lifting him out of his high chair.

"But he likes baths, Mommy," Gabby smiled.

"I know. He'll just splash away while I wash him," Nell smirked.

"What about dance?" Elena frowned. "You can't go now?"

"Don't worry about that, sweetheart," Queen Elena grinned. "James and Abuelo can practice the song while Helen gives Ricky a bath. And I think Isa might want to join them, since she likes playing her guitardian."

"Can she?" Madeline grinned, since Isabel had shown her and the girls some of her inventions when they were together.

"That's a great idea!" Isabel grinned. "I'll go up to my room and get it."

"And Isabel, I think you might have to make one of those for James," Bobby Lee agreed. "We know he says he can play any instrument part on another one, but I'd like to see him with that invention of yours!"


	17. Chapter 17

Elena frowned as she watched Sabrina and Madeline pack up their things in their suitcases.

In a day from now, they would be leaving Avalor. And in the last couple of days she had gone above and beyond to be happy like she promised Queen Elena. But at the moment, she wasn't happy, hugging Kitty close.

"Shouldn't you be packing too?" Madeline asked, musing her hair.

"Don't want to go," Elena sniffled.

"We know, but don't you want to see Snow White again?" Sabrina asked. "I'm sure she's wondering where you are."

"We know you'll miss Avalor, but it'll be nice to see home again," Madeline smiled. "You'll have so many stories to tell your friends at school."

"Story?" Elena repeated. "I tell them about Andrew story!"

"That's right, you can tell your friends about the stories you helped James write, and you can show them the picture version of the one he wrote for you," Nell smiled.

"Yeah!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands happily. "Where Ricky?"

"Daddy's teaching him to guard his kitties," Nell answered with a smile. "And Gabby's packing."

"I don't wanna pack!" Elena pouted.

"I don't want to either, Love Bug," Nell smirked. "But if we don't, we'll have to stay here."

"That bad thing?" Elena asked innocently.

"No, but if we stay here, all our friends would miss us," Nell smiled.

"We can even ask Queen Elena if she'd like to visit Enchancia," Sabrina suggested. "She could bring Isabel with her, and we could all play together."

"And we could also invite Howitzer to come with them, so Sabrina could play with him," Bobby Lee smirked.

"We're going to be pen pals first!" Sabrina frowned, hiding her red face in her handkerchief.

"I thought you were teaching our little boy to guard his kitties, Robert," Nell smirked.

"I tried," Bobby Lee smirked back.

"Ricky no listen?" Elena asked with a smile.

"Florence and Bianca said they'd get him ready to go," Bobby Lee smiled. "But at least we'll get to take those new outfits Isabel made with us."

"I know! And I heard that Madeline and Sabrina's school is going to have a class party for Valentine's Day," Nell grinned. "They can wear their Presto Changer dresses."

"Nell..." Sabrina started slowly, "I almost forgot that I'd said something I shouldn't have before we came here, and Madeline repeated it to Elena and Gabby. I know I apologized for it, and you said I'd have to play with them and help babysit them after the holiday."

"I almost forgot about that, Sabrina," Nell went silent, but she smiled. "But you've been so helpful while we've been here, and you took care of Elena and Gabby sometimes when I needed to help Madeline, so we'll consider the matter closed."

"Thank you!" Sabrina giggled, hugging her close. "Now you go pack, young lady!"

"Yes, Mommy!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"Elena, why don't we make packing like a game?" Nell suggested with a smile.

"Game?!" Elena gasped excitedly.

"If you help me get your things packed, we'll have James read you a kitty story," Nell smiled.

"Kitty story!" Elena cheered. "We take Pinky home with us?"

"Of course you can take Pinky home with you," Nell smiled. "We're all taking our kitties home with us. James even says Zebra's going to be one of his writing helpers now."

"Yay!" Elena cheered. "Let's go pack!"

Madeline and Sabrina tried to hide their giggles as Elena had dragged Nell out of their room. She had never been excited to pack up before, but they knew their sister. If her girls didn't like something she would make it a game.

At the same time, James was packing his things, he noticed Queen Elena in the doorway. "Come on in, Queen Elena," he smiled as he looked up.

"James, I wanted to tell you that very soon, everyone in Avalor is going to be reading your Feast of Friendship mystery," Queen Elena smiled. "Miss Lily, you know, Howitzer's mother, knows a publisher, and she loved your story so much that she sent it to him. He also liked it, and he asked her if he could publish it. She said she'd have to get permission from you first, but-"

"Yes!" James cheered. "This is brilliant! I mean, I didn't know the story was _that_ good! It was just something we all did for fun that one day."

"Wonderful!" Queen Elena smiled. "And, if you have any other stories, he'll publish those too."

"I have a whole box full of them!" James grinned. "I sent some to a magazine back home, and people back home like them too!"

"Okay," Queen Elena smiled. "You can send me the stories, and I'll get the ball rolling."

"Thank you!" James cheered, giving Queen Elena a hug so hard it rivaled her namesake's embraces.

"Easy, James!" Queen Elena chuckled. "I'm happy you're excited but let go of me!"

"Sorry," James apologized with a smile. "I just can't believe it."

"You should be proud," Queen Elena smiled.

"Indeed you should," Roland said as he and Miranda came in to investigate what was happening. "You've always been a magnificent writer, and everyone loves reading your stories. I still remember the first time you had one published in Adventure Stories Weekly. You were so excited that you bought an entire box full of the magazines and distributed them to everyone in the castle, and to your friends at school."

"He certainly is a wonderful writer," Miranda smiled. "I've even seen Robert and Helen reading his stories to the girls for bedtime stories. Florence and Bianca sometimes read them too."

"They are almost as good as Elena and Gabby's storybooks," James smirked.

"That may be true, but they're still little and like those books too," Queen Elena smiled. "Especially Elena and kitty books."

"I know," James smiled. "I like reading those stories to them too."

"You also sing them kitty songs, which Elena especially loves," Roland grinned.

"And I've got a feeling Abuelo's going to be singing Elena's kitty songs for a while," Queen Elena smirked.

"I know what it's like to have kitty songs in your head," Bobby Lee smirked. "I had to sing one with the girls after I lost a game to James, but even though he played it for us, I still got him back for it!"

"Of course it was all in good fun!" Nell giggled.

"You got Elena to pack her things?" Bobby Lee smirked.

"You'll be surprise how easily she accepts a bribe of Mommy telling her a kitty story at bedtime," Nell smiled.

"You better live up to that bribe, Helen," Queen Elena smiled.

"Of course I will," Nell grinned. "Elena's going to love the new kitty books I bought her."

"Gabby will too," Bobby Lee smiled, "And she'll like the adventure books I saw her looking at."

"Yes, you bought her a few little stories that have people going on adventures," Nell remembered. "But hopefully she'll wait until she's a little older before she tries one of those herself!"

"I think she will," Sofia smiled, poking her head through the doorway. "And James? Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Sof," James smiled.

"But how did you find out about it?" Queen Elena teased. "Were you spying?"

"No, Amber and I saw James hug you, and we figured you must have said something he really liked," Sofia grinned.

"I haven't seen him that excited since he got his first story published in that magazine," Amber added. "But at least he managed to be a little calmer the second time he had a story published; he only bought enough magazines for everyone in the family, and his friends, rather than one for everyone in the kingdom!"

"We can't really blame him for the first time, Amber," Miranda smiled, "I know I'd be excited about something like this happening to me, too, and I'd want everyone to share in it."

"The more the merrier, Mom?" James grinned.

Miranda smiled, mussing his hair at his words that she so often used.

"We'll have Cedric make a copy your story box so you can keep the originals, and we'll send the copies here to Avalor," Roland added.

"That's a good idea, Roland," Nell smiled. "Madeline and Sabrina love James' stories as much as Elena and Gabby, and they've even brought them to school with them for silent reading time in their class."

"They have?" James asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Nell chuckled. "Sometimes they share them with their friends, and they like your stories."

"Kitty story?" Elena asked, walking into the room. "I pack everything, Mommy."

"That's good, Love Bug," Nell smiled, "But we're also learning that James is going to have his story published here."

"Andrew story we all made up?" Elena asked.

"That's the one," Nell smiled. "And he's going to send a box of his stories here to Avalor so they'll be published too."

"You give us story for home?" Elena asked.

"Of course I will," Queen Elena grinned. "I'll send a whole box to you, and James can give you a copy, as well as copies to all his friends, or to anyone who wants one."

"I get pictures?" Elena asked.

"I'll be sure to get some with pictures," Queen Elena smiled, mussing her hair.

"Kitty drawing in there?" Elena hoped, jumping up and down.

"Of course your kitty pictures are in there," Queen Elena smiled. "I read a little bit of the story to the jaquins, and even Migs was excited to see himself in there. In fact, all the jaquins loved seeing themselves in the story, and they even offered to take Sofia, Amber, and James on one last ride...and you, Gabby, Madeline, and Sabrina are welcome to come too!"

"Mommy come too?" Elena asked.

"We'll watch you from here, Love Bug; we just want to finish packing," Nell smiled.

"This reminds me of a story," Francisco smiled as he took out his guitar, "You used to tell the jaquins stories when you were younger. Then when she was born, Isabel would curl up beside you and listen too. And even though he never said it, even Esteban loved hearing your stories!"

"I tell kitties stories too?" Elena asked with a grin.

"If you want, Love Bug," Nell smiled. "I better go check on your sister and brother."

"But Ricky can't walk," Elena frowned.

"Don't worry, sweetheart; Daddy's with him, and he won't be able to get far," Nell smirked.

"He's probably being taught how to guard," Roland added with a smile.

"See Ricky!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"We should tell him about James' story getting published," Nell grinned. "Florence and Bianca will also want to hear about that. They like reading those stories as much as we do."

"Of course, Ricky just likes looking at the pictures," Bobby Lee smirked.

"Well, he has to start somewhere," Nell smirked. "But maybe when he's a little older, he can write a story with James, like Elena wants to."

"Ricky! Ricky!" Elena giggled, running into her brother's nursery. "Some good happened!"

"Oh? What is it, Elena Lydia?" Bianca asked, handing Ricky Zoomer to chew on.

"Kitty story pug-lists!" Elena exclaimed happily, holding Ricky close.

"You mean published," Florence corrected with a smile.

"It's going to be published," Nell added, and she and Elena told Bianca, Florence, and Ricky all about Queen Elena's proposal to have James' stories published.

"That's so exciting!" Florence smiled. "James must be thrilled!"

"You have no idea," Nell chuckled, and told them about James' reaction to Queen Elena's suggestion.

"Well, he certainly has every right to be excited about that," Bianca smiled.

Ricky squealed, clapping his hands at the thought of himself being in one of James' story that was getting published before Elena placed him on the ground.

"Elena, what are you doing, honey?" Nell smiled softly, patting her on the head.

"Ricky smells bad," Elena frowned, spotting Ricky's diaper bag. "I change him."

"Didn't you get sick the last time you tried?" Florence recalled, remembering her son telling her about the twins staying with her grandson after he had a nightmare.

"I try again so I get better changing him," Elena explained.

"That's a good idea," Nell agreed. "You get better with practice, and soon you won't need us to help you with him. We'll just stay by your side, but you'll be the one driving the boat."

"I don't drive you anywhere," Elena looked confused.

"Remember, that means that you take the lead in something," Florence explained, reminding her that she'd used that phrase one other time.

Elena nodded softly, but was still confused as Ricky tried to roll away.

"You can try that with Daddy, but not with your sister," Nell smirked.

"Ricky bad?" Elena asked, not understanding what she meant.

"There's no such thing as a bad Ricky," Nell smiled. "But changing him is a two-person job. I'll hold him while you get him cleaned up, and I'll help put the diaper on him."

"Okay!" Elena smiled. She smiled as Ricky cooed, trying to roll away again but couldn't. Cleaning him up wasn't as difficult as it was the last time, which was a relief. But Elena wanted to be as patient as possible with her little brother, even if he was trying to move.

As she and Nell changed Ricky, Elena told him another story about Zoomer and Greenie playing with Kitty and Pinky. "We write it down later, right, Mommy?" she asked when the job was done.

"If we can remember what happened," Nell smiled.

Ricky squealed, tugging at Elena's hair as she tried to fight him off.

"Richard Edward Johnson the second, is that how you'll always treat Elena after she was helping you?" Bobby Lee teased, taking him away from Elena's hair.

Ricky cooed and giggled as he waved Zoomer and Greenie in the air.

"You know that only gets you so far, right, Ricky?" Bobby Lee smirked.

"Yes, Ricky, you're your father's son!" Nell smirked. "He always does that 'you love me!' bit whenever I try to scold him too!"

"You love me!" Bobby Lee grinned, kissing her on the cheek as he handed Ricky over to her.

Nell smiled, stroking her son's hair as Ricky looked up at her with Zoomer's wings in his mouth.

As the day went on, Elena started to become restless as she laid on her stomach while Gabby practiced her exercises.

Ricky was between them, happily rolling back and forth on his tummy. He rarely was allowed to be in his sisters' room with just them alone, but Nell and Bobby Lee needed some last-minute packing themselves so the girls offered to watch him.

Elena tried to entertain him and Gabby with a new kitty story, but Ricky wasn't interested at the moment. She offered to teach Ricky one of the dances that she was teaching Gabby as part of her exercises, but Ricky would just giggle and clap his hands as he watched her dance. "What you want to do, Ricky?" she asked at last.

Ricky rolled on his tummy, kicking his legs happily.

"I think he wants to play follow the leader," Gabby smiled, stopping her exercises. "Like Miss Milly taught us!"

Ricky cooed at the idea even if he didn't understand what it meant.

"Why don't you three play follow the leader to my room?" Bianca suggested. "I think there are some little surprises Queen Elena wanted you to have before you left."

"Let's go!" Elena cheered.

"Yeah!" Gabby smiled.

Ricky squealed as Bianca picked him up and carried him to her room.

Elena and Gabby immediately ran to the gifts that were awaiting them before looking at Bianca's scolding face.

"Ricky's exam-pole," Elena sighed, stepping away from her gift.

"We be good girls," Gabby added, also frowning.

"You open yours first, Ricky?" Elena asked.

"That's right," Bianca nodded, "Richard Edward opens his first. But I'll get him started."

Ricky squealed as Bianca helped him open his gift. It was a teddy bear made in the pattern of Avalor's flag.

"Zoomer and Greenie got a new friend!" Elena smiled.

"And Bianca, I saw you looking at those hair combs that Mama used to wear," Queen Elena added. "I had Mateo make copies of them, and I put the original ones back in the Jewel Room, so you can take the copy with you."

Bianca smiled. "I'm honored, Queen Elena! Thank you so much!"

"Yay Miss Bianca!" Gabby giggled, jumping up and down.

"Speaking of gifts... Here's yours Gabby," Queen Elena smiled, handing her the gift.

"Oh, it's just like the medal you gave your friend Naomi," Bianca smiled. "With the blue Maruvian crystal."

"That's right," Queen Elena smiled. "Everyone in your family, and Sofia and her family, are all getting a Maruvian crystal pendant as a little memento of your vacation here."

"Pretty!" Elena smiled as her namesake slipped hers around her neck.

"Why Ricky not get one?" Gabby frowned.

"It's because he's a little young, but if he visits Avalor again when he's bigger, I'll give him one," Queen Elena assured, musing her hair.

"Ricky have mine," Elena offered, taking off hers and slipping it around Ricky's neck.

"No, Elena Lydia; it's nice of you to share yours, but Richard Edward can't have one since he may choke on it," Bianca said as she took it off him and gave it back to her.

"I don't wanna hurt Ricky!" Elena gasped.

"It's all right; you were warned in time," Bianca smiled. "And no, you're not a bad girl," she added, seeing Elena look worried, "You wanted to share something with your brother. But I promise, Elena Lydia: Richard Edward will have his own pendant when he's older."

Elena smiled happily at the thought as she hugged Ricky close.

The day she dreaded had finally arrived as she saw Sofia trying to wake her up.

It's not that she wanted to not wake up, it meant that if she did, she would have to leave everything and everyone in Avalor. Including the kitties.

"Don't wanna go!" she cried.

"We'll come back again, Elena," Sofia smiled. "In fact, I heard Queen Elena say that she's going to come to Enchancia in a few months."

Elena perked up a little. "She visit me?"

"Of course she will," Sofia smiled. "She told me that she's going to host a party for an unknown author when his book debuts."

"James?" Elena asked.

"Maybe," Sofia grinned. "But you can't tell anyone about it."

"Not even Susie and Sally?" Elena frowned.

"Okay maybe them," Sofia smirked.

"And Miss Milly?" Elena grinned.

"Now you're just pushing it," Sofia teased. "Nell asked me to get you up. Gabby, much to everyone's surprise, was an early bird today."

"We tell Mommy and Gabby?" Elena asked.

"They already know," Sofia smiled. "Queen Elena told Mom, Dad, your Mommy and Daddy, Gabby, Miss Bianca, and Miss Florence. She didn't tell Ricky since he can't talk yet. She wanted me to tell you herself. But you cannot tell James about this! Promise me!"

"I promise!" Elena vowed. "I be good girl and not tell James secret!"

"Good," Sofia smiled as she helped her get dressed.

Elena giggled at the pink and purple dress she was wearing, frowning as she tried to look for Kitty.

"She's on your bed, remember?" Sofia smiled, musing her hair.

"No. That Pinky," Elena frowned. She soon found Kitty, and holding both of her jaquins close, she went off to find Nell. However, she paused and whispered to Sofia, "We tell Amber?"

"Of course we tell Amber!" Sofia smiled. "I can't believe I almost forgot her! In fact, let's go tell her right now!"

Elena giggled, running ahead of Sofia as she bumped into Amber. "We got news!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down.

"What news?" Amber wondered, brushing off her dress.

"Amber, we'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell a soul," Sofia smiled.

"I promise," Amber smiled, ushering them into her room.

"We tell Auntie Madeline and Auntie Sabrina too?" Elena asked, seeing them come down the hall.

"Of course!" Sofia smiled. "Madeline! Sabrina! Come in, quick! We've got big news!"

"What kind of news?!" Sabrina asked excitedly.

"Is it baby related?" Madeline frowned. "We got enough of them."

"No, not that kind of news," Sofia assured, giving her a hug. "It's more of event news."

"Queen Elena hold dance!" Elena shouted. "After James has book pug-list!"

Amber, Madeline and Sabrina looked confused, but Sofia clarified, "Queen Elena's going to come to Enchancia, and she's going to have a party for James when his book gets published!"

"That's wonderful!" Amber grinned. "I won't tell him, but James will be so excited!"

"I won't tell him!" Madeline grinned.

"I won't either!" Sabrina agreed.

"Elena already promised me that she wouldn't," Sofia smirked. "Where did she wander off to?"

"Probably to find Nell," Madeline smiled a little.

"Or Gabby," Sabrina added. "I can't believe that she of all people woke up early!"

"It's been known to happen," Amber smiled. "She'd want to do something, but Elena was still asleep. So, since she knew James always gets up early, she'd go to his room and sing with him, or he'd read to her until she fell asleep again."

"Well, soon he'll have a new book to read her," Sofia smiled.

"She'll like it," Sabrina smiled.

"But we'll get to take it to school!" Madeline grinned. "Even the boys that tease us like James' stories!"

"Well, that's the way to make friends," Sofia smiled, "Find something you have in common and go from there."

Sabrina and Madeline smiled at the suggestion, hearing Gabby wailing as they, Amber and Sofia wondered what was wrong.

"Gabby, what's the matter? I thought you'd be happy to go home. Don't you want to see your friends?" Sofia asked when they came to her room.

"Girls, what's the matter?" Nell asked. Her expression softened when she saw Gabby in tears. "Gabby, sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"You can tell us," Sabrina added with a comforting smile.

"Whatever's wrong, it'll stay here in this room," Amber smiled.

"James sad that he won't hear that his story pub-list?" Gabby asked.

"Of course not," Sofia smiled. "This is going to be a surprise for him. You heard Queen Elena say that she's going to come to Enchancia, right?"

"Yeah," Gabby sniffled.

"Well, she's going to surprise James when his book comes out here," Sofia continued. "She's going to come to Enchancia for a big party. But you can't say anything to him about it."

"Okay," Gabby sniffed. "Mommy, I wanna see baby kitties!"

"And they want to see you," Nell smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Did anything else get you sad?" Madeline asked softly, stroking her hair.

"A little," Gabby muttered.

"Don't worry, Gabby, you know that kitties make everything better," Nell smiled. "And they'll miss you as much as you'll miss them."

Gabby smiled a little as they went out to see the jaquins again. She liked the way they purred and made her feel better. "Kitties come with us for a big party for James?" she whispered.

"They probably will, Gab-Gab," Nell smiled. "But they know not to tell James about it, right?"

"I can keep a secret," Migs promised, but he glanced at Skylar and Luna. "I don't know about those two, but..."

"I can keep my mouth shut!" Skylar protested.

"I'll believe that when I don't hear anything," Luna smirked.

Gabby giggled. "Silly kitties!" She giggled again as they purred around her.

Kitties were definitely better than doggies in her mind as Gabby was going to miss the talking kitties.

At least until she remembered her own talking kitties back home.

She also liked James' dog Jagger, since he had been so nice to her when she had flown on that horse. He just sat there and let her cry into his fur as she recovered from the scary experience. She would even sometimes go with James around the castle grounds when he took Jagger for a walk.

"You wanna meet our kitties and Jaggy when you come?" she asked.

"It might be nice to have some new kitty friends," Migs smiled, "But what's a Jaggy?"

"James' puppy! He's not scary like other doggies," Gabby smiled.

"Gabby had a bad experience with a dog when she was younger," Nell explained.

"Well she's been lucky not to see any here," Skylar purred.

"Everyone love kitties like Elena?!" Gabby giggled.

"That's true, little _princessa_ ," Skylar purred.

"And we'll protect you from any doggies you run into," Migs added. "But of course we'll give Jaggy a chance."

"I'm sure Jagger would be interested to meet you," Nell smiled, "He's used to seeing Elena carry Kitty around, so he knows what jaquins look like, but we'll stay with him when he meets you."

After saying goodbye to the kitties and getting a kitty kiss from Skylar, Gabby ran to the carriage that was awaiting her and Nell as she heard Ricky giggling.

Elena was playing with his new teddy bear, stroking his hair with one hand and making the bear dance with the other.

"You like that teddy dance, don't you, Ricky?" Elena smiled. "Just like Daddy does with your Teddy back home!"

Nell smiled, recalling how Bobby Lee always danced Ricky and his teddy around when he had to go to the doctor's. "Now your teddy has a dance partner, little guy!"

Ricky squealed and bounced on Bianca's lap, reaching out for Nell. He loved it when people made his toys dance or gave them a voice.

She took him in her arms as Ricky laid his head on her shoulder. Taking the teddy bear, Elena and Gabby giggled as Nell made it dance and gave it a voice. "Look at me Ricky!" Nell shouted happily, altering her voice a little.

"You sure she hasn't been with James lately?" Amber questioned, watching the scene with a smile.

"No, James will do that for Ricky too, but he mostly sings or tells him stories," Nell smirked.

"You like Mommy being your teddy, Ricky?" Elena giggled.

Ricky bounced in Bianca's lap, clapping his hands as he watched Nell dance his teddy around.

Soon the younger kids were starting to get tired, as Elena had fallen asleep on Nell's lap.

"They had a long couple of hours," Miranda smiled, stroking her hair.

"I see a few big kids getting sleepy too," Nell smirked.

It was true. Amber was already asleep on James' shoulder again, while he was trying to read. However, the book slipped off his lap and landed on the floor of the coach. Fortunately, it missed Sofia, who was sleeping on his lap.

"Sorry, Sof…" James mumbled before he fell asleep.

"And James, let's be glad Sofia can sleep through everything," Miranda smirked, reaching over and mussing his hair.

Sabrina and Madeline were the last ones to fall asleep as the adults smiled at the sleeping children, or in Nell's case, sleeping siblings.

"It's never this quiet at home," Bobby Lee smirked, being careful not to wake up Gabby.

"Look at it this way, Robert, being in Avalor tired them all out," Roland smiled. "We'll probably hear a few mumbles at best."

"And they'll get a pretty good sleep tonight," Miranda agreed. "For now, let's let sleeping children lie. And who knows, maybe we'll fall asleep too."

"We were pretty busy there ourselves," Nell smiled. She dropped her voice to a whisper, "But at least Queen Elena will be coming to Enchancia soon."

"I can't wait for that! You-know-who's going to love it!" Bobby Lee agreed. He didn't want to reveal the surprise with James so close to him.

"So will Elena," Nell grinned, seeing Elena cuddle Kitty and Pinky in her sleep.

It was dark by the time the carriage had arrived to Enchancia as Ricky babbled for Nell who took him in her arms.

"Yes, we're back, little guy," Nell cooed, stroking his hair.

Ricky squealed at the thought of seeing his things again as Bobby Lee handed him his new teddy bear before putting a paw in his mouth.

"It'll feel good sleeping in our own beds tonight," Bobby Lee smiled, gathering up Elena.

Florence smiled beside him as she carried Gabby. "Indeed it will, and before you know it, we'll have a visitor again."

"I can't wait to see her face when she comes here," Nell smiled.

"I'm sure she'll be excited," Miranda smiled, carrying Sofia. "This one won't be waking up any time soon."

"I'm surprised she can sleep through anything," Nell teased. "When the girls were born, she was wide awake."

"The times, they are a-changin'," Roland smiled, quoting a favorite song of his as he settled James on his back. "But you're right. Amber's dead to the world when she hits the pillow, and I'm surprised James is still sleeping. Normally he wakes up for every little thing."

"He's probably dreaming about his next mystery adventure," Bianca said as she took Amber. "And he'll be so surprised when he hears about this!"

"But for now, don't tell him," Roland agreed. "He'll want to find out about this for himself."

"My lips are sealed, your majesty," Bianca smiled.

Ricky was the only child awake, happily babbling away as Nell carried him inside the castle, bowing to Baileywick in the process.

"Don't worry, Richard, everything is the same as when you left it," Baileywick assured, stroking his hair.

"Not everything, Baileywick. Ricky learned to roll on his tummy while we were gone," Nell grinned, seeing Ricky reach out for the steward.

"Well, congratulations," Baileywick smiled, patting Ricky's head, "I remember when Prince James and Princess Amber started doing that. I spent so much time running after them, and now I'll probably do it again."

"No, Baileywick, but what you can do is start preparations for a surprise party," Roland smiled. He laid James on the couch, covered him with a blanket, and told Baileywick about the book and the plans for the celebration.

"I'll get the ball rolling right away," Baileywick smiled. "I'll also keep quiet about everything. And will Prince James be on the couch tonight?"

"He'll be fine there," Roland smiled, tucking Zebra in with him.

The End.


End file.
